Cited by 337Air Quality and Health ImpactsAsthma and respiratory diseasesIndoor Air Quality and Microbial Exposure

Estimates of the Global Burden of Ambient PM2.5, Ozone, and NO2 on Asthma Incidence and Emergency Room Visits

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Anenberg, Susan C., Henze, Daven K., Tinney, Veronica, Kinney, Patrick L., Raich, William, Fann, Neal, Malley, Chris S., Roman, Henry +10 more·2018·Environmental Health Perspectives

Abstract

Background: Asthma is the most prevalent chronic respiratory disease worldwide, affecting 358 million people in 2015. Ambient air pollution exacerbates asthma among populations around the world and may also contribute to new-onset asthma. Objectives: We aimed to estimate the number of asthma emergency room visits and new onset asthma cases globally attributable to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), ozone, and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations. Methods: We used epidemiological health impact functions combined with data describing population, baseline asthma incidence and prevalence, and pollutant concentrations. We constructed a new dataset of national and regional emergency room visit rates among people with asthma using published survey data. Results: We estimated that 9–23 million and 5–10 million annual asthma emergency room visits globally in 2015 could be attributable to ozone and PM2.5, respectively, representing 8–20% and 4–9% of the annual number of global visits, respectively. The range reflects the application of central risk estimates from different epidemiological meta-analyses. Anthropogenic emissions were responsible for ∼37% and 73% of ozone and PM2.5 impacts, respectively. Remaining impacts were attributable to naturally occurring ozone precursor emissions (e.g., from vegetation, lightning) and PM2.5 (e.g., dust, sea salt), though several of these sources are also influenced by humans. The largest impacts were estimated in China and India. Conclusions: These findings estimate the magnitude of the global asthma burden that could be avoided by reducing ambient air pollution. We also identified key uncertainties and data limitations to be addressed to enable refined estimation. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP3766

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  • An estimated 9-23 million (8-20% of total) asthma-related emergency room visits globally were attributable to ozone.

    “An estimated 9–23 million (8–20% of total) asthma-related emergency room visits globally were attributable to ozone (74).”

    From Ozone pollution: A Major health hazard worldwide (2019) · cites this paper as [74]

  • Worldwide, in 2015, 9-23 million annual asthma emergency room visits have been attributed to outdoor ozone.

    “Worldwide, in 2015, 9–23 million and 5–10 million annual asthma emergency room visits have been attributed to the outdoor air pollutants ozone and particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter <2.5 μm (PM2.5), respectively.”

    From Epidemiology of Asthma in Children and Adults (2019) · cites this paper as [121]

  • Outdoor air pollution almost certainly has a major global impact on asthma for children and adults, especially in China and India.

    “Outdoor air pollution almost certainly has a major global impact on asthma for children and adults, especially in China and India (121).”

    From Epidemiology of Asthma in Children and Adults (2019) · cites this paper as [121]

  • Worldwide, in 2015, 5-10 million annual asthma emergency room visits have been attributed to PM2.5.

    “Worldwide, in 2015, 9–23 million and 5–10 million annual asthma emergency room visits have been attributed to the outdoor air pollutants ozone and particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter <2.5 μm (PM2.5), respectively.”

    From Epidemiology of Asthma in Children and Adults (2019) · cites this paper as [121]

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Authors
Anenberg, S. C., Henze, D. K., Tinney, V., Kinney, P. L., Raich, W., Fann, N., Malley, C. S., Roman, H., Lamsal, L., Duncan, B., Martin, R. V., van Donkelaar, A., Brauer, M., Doherty, R., Jonson, J. E., Davila, Y., Sudo, K., & Kuylenstierna, J. C. I.
Affiliations
  • George Washington University (US)
  • University of Colorado Boulder (US)
  • Boston University (US)
  • Industrial Economics, Inc. , Cambridge, Massachusetts,
  • Environmental Protection Agency (US)
  • Stockholm Environment Institute , York,
  • Goddard Space Flight Center (US)
  • Dalhousie University (CA)
  • Dalhousie University , Halifax, Nova Scotia,
  • University of British Columbia (CA)
  • University of Edinburgh (GB)
  • Norwegian Meteorological Institute (NO)
  • Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JP)
  • Stockholm Environment Institute (GB)
Corresponding author
Anenberg, Susan C.
Venue
Environmental Health Perspectives
Published
2018-10-01
Volume
126
Issue
10
Pages
107004-107004
ISSN
  • 0091-6765 (ISSN-L)
  • 1552-9924
OpenAlex
W2898247900
Cited by
337
References
71
Citations by year
2026: 19 · 2025: 45 · 2024: 51 · 2023: 38 · 2022: 48 · 2021: 55 · 2020: 47 · 2019: 34
FWCI
16.80
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Environmental Health Perspectives (publishedVersion, public-domain)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • White Rose Research Online (University of Leeds, The University of Sheffield, University of York) (acceptedVersion)
  • CU Scholar (University of Colorado Boulder) (submittedVersion)
  • Edinburgh Research Explorer (University of Edinburgh) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Funders
  • National Aeronautics and Space Administration
  • Stockholm Environment Institute
  • Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Air Quality and Health Impacts
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Asthma and respiratory diseases
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Indoor Air Quality and Microbial Exposure
Keywords
asthma, ambient air pollution, PM2.5, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, emergency department visits, new-onset asthma, attributable burden, anthropogenic emissions, respiratory disease burden, China, India
MeSH terms
Air Pollution, Asthma, Emergency Service, Hospital, Environmental Exposure, Humans, Nitrogen Dioxide, Ozone, Particle Size, Risk Factors, Incidence, Particulate Matter

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