By Kapil Kajal
The rising air pollution in Bengaluru is causing a rise in the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) cases in the city.
COPD is an umbrella term used to describe chronic lung diseases that cause lung airflow problems. On average, one person dies every 10 seconds due to COPD, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The major sources of COPD include tobacco, biofuel smoke, smog exposure and air pollution.
According to a study by the Kempegowda Institute of Medical Sciences in Bengaluru, the overall prevalence of COPD was 4.36% among the surveyed group. The prevalence among males and females were 5.32% and 3.41% respectively.
The prevalence was found to be increasing with an increase in age. The study also found that exposure to tobacco smoke could increase the chances of COPD.
Dr Shashidhara G, a pulmonologist with his own practice, told 101Reporters that the number of patients of COPD is increasing in the city. He pointed out that most of the patients belong to poor financial backgrounds who don’t have access to clean fuels for cooking.
According to the WHO, the most common symptoms of COPD are breathlessness, excessive sputum (mixture of saliva and mucus) production and a chronic cough. An incurable condition, total deaths from COPD are projected to increase in the next 20 years, making it the third leading cause of death in the world, highlighted the WHO.
According to the Karnataka Disease Burden Profile, COPD ranked second in top 15 causes of diseases and deaths in 2016, up from ninth in 1990 in Karnataka.
Dr H Paramesh, a pediatric pulmonologist and professor with the Indian Institute of Science, stated that the journey of air pollution from our nose through our body has a direct impact on the respiratory tract, causing asthma and COPD.
He pointed out the lower amount of air pollution can cause asthma but when a person is exposed to a higher degree of air pollution, getting COPD is easy.
Deaths in India from COPD increased from 43,500 in 1990 to 1.07 lakh in 2015, as per the State of Global Air 2017 report. India accounts for about 67% of the global increase in ozone-attributable COPD since 1990, and over the last 25 years, India experienced a nearly 150% increase in ozone-attributable deaths, it added.
Dr Yellapa Reddy, the Governing Council Member of the Foundation for Ecological Security of India, stated that planting trees, good public transport, carpooling should be implemented in the city.
He pointed out that children are vulnerable to respiratory illnesses and should not breathe tobacco and environmental smoke.
Women at higher risk
In his study, Dr Paramesh noted that choolhas used solid cooking fuel and released smoke equivalent to 400 cigarettes per hour. Use of non-commercial cooking fuel like dung cakes, agricultural waste and firewood showed the prevalence of asthma as 48.8%, 47.8% and 46.6% respectively, while the use of commercial cooking fuel like kerosene, gas and electricity showed 8.3%, 2.6% and 1.2% respectively, the study noted.
Another study by Bengaluru’s St. Martha's Hospital found that out of the 4,160 women in the study, 87 had COPD, that was triggered by exposure to biomass smoke.
Biomass exposure is a major risk factor in women and the duration of exposure correlates with severity of the disease, and not the nature of exposure, the study found.
“In India, 75% of households use this source of energy [choolhas], leading to high levels of indoor air pollution with its health consequences,” the study noted.
Dr Shashidhara mentioned that emissions from a choolha include fine particulate matter and ozone, which are extremely harmful. He also highlighted the need to use clean fuels, such as electric or LPG, for cooking or household purposes.
(Author is Mumbai - based freelance writer and a member of 101Reporters.com, a pan-India network of grassroots reporters.)