Indoor Air Pollution – Leading Risk Factor for Premature Deaths
September 21, 2021
Since the start of the Covid-19 global pandemic, we hear more and more about IAQ or indoor air quality. The pandemic has shown a spotlight on a major risk factor that has been around for decades. Indoor air pollution is the 4th leading cause of death worldwide with an estimated 4.3 million deaths a year. This staggering number is from Our World in Data’s 2017 report on Indoor Air Pollution and highlights a little-known global risk factor.
Indoor air pollution has a staggering lead on other major risk factors like obesity, alcohol, unsafe water, secondhand smoking, and drug use. Indoor air pollution also helps contribute to major illnesses like heart disease, pneumonia, stroke, and lung cancer.
According to the Global Burden of Disease study 1.6 million people worldwide died prematurely in 2017 from indoor air pollution. This is four times the number of global homicides which came in at around 400,000 in 2017.
With the health risks associated with indoor air pollution combined with a global pandemic, it is no wander this has become a hot topic in many organizations especially places like schools, elderly care facilities, and even your local office building.
Click here to read the full report updated November 2019, by Our World in Data.
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