The battle against pollution has been one of the biggest concerns over the past two decades. And according to a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the results begin to show up, as people breathe cleaner air and, consequently, live longer.

 

Pollution has been long associated with a great risk for heart attack, stroke, lung cancer, asthma and other serious disease. The World Health Organization estimates that around three million deaths worldwide are caused by pollution every year. Cars, trucks and industrial plants are the greatest source of air pollution emissions that increases the rates of heart attacks. Cutting back pollution is a step forward to diminish these risks, is a step forward to a longer healthy life.

 

For the study, researchers from Brigham Young and Harvard universities analyzed data on changes in air quality and life expectancy between 1980 and 2000 in 51 cities, including Washington. Levels of pollution caused by traffic, industrial plants and smoking fell by more than 10 micrograms per cubic meter of air, the study found. Consequently, life expectancy rose by 31 weeks. In some areas like Buffalo, New York and Pittsburgh, where fine-particle counts dropped by 13 to 14 micrograms, life expectancy rose by 43 weeks.

 

“We find that we’re getting a substantial return on our investments in improving our air quality. Not only we are getting cleaner air that improves our environment, but it is improving our public health,” says Dr. C. Arden Pope III, the study's lead author and an epidemiologist at Brigham Young University.