Breathing easy: Navigating Lung Health in a Changing Atmosphere

Air pollution is having a high concentration of pollutants in the air that can be harmful to people, animals, plants, or structures. It poses a significant risk to the health of people everywhere in the world. Individuals with chronic cardiovascular disorders, the elderly and small children are most vulnerable to the negative health impact due to dust, smoke, and polluted air. Exposure to dust has been linked to both infectious and non-infectious disorders. Influenza infectious disorders linked to dust include viruses, bacterial pneumonia, meningococcal meningitis, and pulmonary coccidioidomycosis. Contaminated air exposure has been linked to non-infectious disorders such as lung fibrosis, asthma, sarcoidosis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The present understanding of how ambient air pollution affects the respiratory system is investigated with relation to the health of the lung.