As Delhi’s air turns severe, uptick in patients with breathing ailments

Doctors in the city said they have seen a significant increase in the number of patients complaining of respiratory illnesses over the past five days, when pollution has been in the “severe” zone, highlighting the dangerous impact of Delhi’s toxic air.

They also cautioned that while even healthy individuals were more to illness due to the existing pollution levels, senior citizens were particularly susceptible to serious medical complications.

“We have seen an increase of 15 to 20% in the number of people coming in with respiratory tract infections and aggravation of existing asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in the last four to five days. People are also coming in with complaints of itchy eyes, throat irritation, and headaches,” said Dr Nevin Kishore, head of bronchology and respiratory medicine, Max healthcare.

Doctors also warn that exposure to such high levels of pollution can lead to infections and allergic ailments even in healthy individuals, adding that they see such an increase in influx of patients reporting such illnesses every year in the Capital around this time.

“Pollution is known to down-regulate immunity even in healthy individuals, leading to more upper respiratory tract infections and viral infections during this time. And, this year, pollution will increase the risk of Covid-19. There is enough evidence to show that the incidence of heart attacks and strokes goes up when pollution levels are high,” said Dr Srikant Sharma, senior consultant of internal medicine at Moolchand hospital.

“Chronic exposure to air with AQI over 100 — which has been the case in Delhi every day except one, since September 9 this year — can lead to healthy people developing lung diseases including lung cancer, endocrine diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart diseases. In children below the age of five, it also leads to lung development being deranged, which can lead to higher probability of lung diseases in the future,” he said.

Elderly people are more likely to die of respiratory ailments and cardiovascular diseases when pollution levels go up, health experts said.

“In the long run, pollution is more dangerous than smoking and is known to lead to lung cancer. It also increases the risk of heart attack and stroke. We see an increase in the number of these cases in the emergency department,” said Dr Prasun Chaterjee, associate professor of geriatric medicine at the All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

A study from AIIMS last year showed that at peak levels of pollution — between October and January — the emergency sees a 40% increase in patients with respiratory problems.

Dr Rajeev Chawla, senior pulmonologist and critical care specialist at the Indraprastha Apollo hospitals, said, “The lung function of any person deteriorates with age. This means the elderly already have a compromised lung function, which when combined with the high levels of pollution means they are more likely to get severe complications.”

A 2017 study from the Unites States shows that in people over the age of 65, the all-cause mortality went up by 13.6% for every 10μg increase in the level of PM2.5 in areas where pollution levels were below national air quality standards.

What concerns Dr Chaterjee more, however, is the recently established link between increase in the pollution levels and dementia among the old.

“Apart from the usual suspects, exposure to high levels of pollution over time increases the risk of people developing dementia later in life. Currently, 0.9 to 1% of the 130 million old people in India are demented, which is likely to increase drastically. Other risk factors for dementia are aging; social isolation, which is very high right now because of Covid-19; lack of physical activity, also happening because of Covid-19 and now the high levels of air pollution,” he said.

“Those at high risk — especially patients who have existing asthma, COPD, or fibrosis — should try to limit exposure to air pollution as much as possible. They should remain indoors when the pollution levels are high. And, if they have to step out, they should cover their faces and carry their inhalers with them,” said Dr Kishore.

Source: Read Full Article