The condition of many people with existing respiratory issues worsens every time air pollution spikes in the city, said Vijay Hadda, additional professor of Pulmonary Medicine at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi. Dr. Hadda told The Hindu that he would not stay here during October-November, if given a choice.
How does air pollution affect health?
Data from multiple studies have shown an association between stroke and air pollution. There is also a corelation between air pollution and cognitive impairment. Air pollution can also lead to COPD [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease] and cancer.
It can also worsen existing diseases such as asthma or ILDs [interstitial lung diseases]. Also, people who are living long-term in this bad air quality will be prone to other infections such as pneumonia as their airways are already inflamed.
There are studies which show that air pollution also increases the chances of a heart attack. Name any organ, it is affected by air pollution.
What have you observed in patients over the years?
During months when air pollution levels are very high, we see an increase of over 10% in the number of patients who come with respiratory problems.
The number of people coming with severe symptoms is also higher compared to the rest of the year.
What about long-term patients?
There are many patients with respiratory problems I have been seeing for years whose condition will be under control with medication throughout the year. They come only once in two or three months. When pollution increases around this time every year, they are forced to meet me every 15 days or so. We give them steroids. These drugs have side effects, but there is no other way.
Even when the pollution is severe, most people in Delhi do not take it seriously. Why is it so?
It is because air pollution takes several years to show its impact. If you have cough now, you will ignore it. But a fraction of patients, due of exposure over the last five or 10 years, will develop asthma or COPD. People may not feel it now, but they should think long-term.
How is a person affected when the air quality is ‘severe’?
For any person, including babies and children, it is equivalent to smoking at least 10 cigarettes a day. I was part of a lung transplant in Vienna and we took the lungs of an 80-year-old person and it was pink. But in Delhi, even the lungs of a non-smoker are visibly darker and carbon-loaded.
What precautions would you suggest?
Avoid exercising early in the morning and late in the evening, i.e., before 10 a.m. and after 6 p.m. Try to use N95 masks. Air purifiers are also helpful. In general, air quality indoors is better than outside. I have stopped going for my morning walk and exercise at home. I also use N95 masks and drink more water. If you keep yourself hydrated, the effect of pollution will be reduced on the body.
Would you advise your patients to move out of Delhi during these months?
If somebody can afford to do it, [then] absolutely. But most patients that come to me cannot afford that. Given a choice, I wouldn’t stay in Delhi during this time.
What challenges lie in the future if this situation continues?
The number of diseases people will be having due to air pollution will keep on increasing, though there are other factors involved. For example, till a few years back COPD was low in terms of mortality. But in the last few years, COPD is number two or three in terms of mortality in India. There was a study abroad which showed that an increase in air pollution led to a decrease in brain size.
What should the governments be doing?
To solve the problem of air pollution, there should be strong political commitment.
