That next breath of air you take is just one of the many countless breaths we all take during our lifetimes. And now it seems that scientists and researchers have made the not so startling discovery that breathing cleaner air leads to a longer life. Why has it taken us so long to admit what would seem to be the most obvious of obvious parallels that science could proclaim?
News of this 'discovery' is found in today's edition of the Washington Post and reported by Juliet Eilperin, who says: "Reducing air pollution has extended average life expectancy by five months for urban residents in dozens of U.S. cities over the past two decades, researchers found.
Jay Bhatt, Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine writes for ABC News Medical Unit also adds that: "If the air in your city is clean, you can tack on about five months to your life. So suggests a new study by researchers at Brigham Young University and Harvard School of Public Health."
Dr. Bhatt adds that the "... study found that the average life expectancy in 51 cities in the United States increased by nearly three years in recent decades and that approximately five months of that increase came as a result of cleaner air."
Dr. Bhatt further explains by including a statement from Brigham Young University epidemiologist, C. Arden Pope III, who served as the lead author of the anlysis appearing in the New England Journal of Medicine's January 22nd issue.
Pope states that: "Life expectancy is a well-understood indicator for public health,... We find that we are getting a substantial return on our investments in improving our air quality." Dr. Bhatt includes: "Pope is no stranger to this issue. He and co-author Douglas Dockery, chair of the Department of Environmental Health at Harvard School of Public Health, teamed up with other researchers on important studies in the 1990s that revealed the negative health effects of infinitesimally small particles of pollution."
In her article for the Post, Ms. Eilperin quotes Pope's optimistic perspective: "We are getting a return on our investment," said Pope, an epidemiologist and economics professor at Brigham Young University, adding that cutting air pollutants in major cities amounted to "a large, nationwide, natural experiment."
Ms. Eilperin points out: "Between 1980 and 2000, federal regulations on power plants, including the acid rain program, helped reduce smog ingredients such as sulfur dioxide significantly, while the installation of catalytic converters on vehicles cut nitrogen oxide pollution across the country."
Ms. Eilperin furhter explains: "Every five years the government evaluates whether it should tighten the standards for fine particulates. In September 2006, the Environmental Protection Agency decided to keep the limit unchanged at 15 micrograms per cubic meter averaged over an entire year, but it tightened the maximum permissible in any one 24-hour period from 65 to 35 micrograms. Both the EPA's scientific advisory panel and independent researchers urged the agency to impose a more stringent annual standard.
Ms. Eilperin adds another perspective, that of: "Janice Nolen, assistant vice president of policy and advocacy for the American Lung Association, (who) said she hoped the new findings would spur policymakers to tighten federal soot standards the next time they issue new regulations, scheduled for 2011."
Ms. Nolan adds: "Air pollution shortens life, and when we reduce air pollution, it actually adds months to our life," Ms. Nolan also said: "While it's hard for people to see the connection, we can document it, and we know that the connection exists."
Ms. Eilperin concludes by quoting Pope's dedication to further research and future action: "There is room to improve," Pope said, noting that even relatively clean cities can experience the benefits of cutting down more on airborne particulates. Furthermore, Ms. Eilperin reports that Dr. Pope added: "there's a lot of room to improve in Chinese cities, and Indian cities, and cities throughout the world."
We're all hopeful that someday pollution can be better controlled and eventually eradicated. Until that day comes, will are left to support the efforts of scientists such as Dr. Pope and his fellow researchers. Let's hope that the new Obama Administration carries out its promise and fully includes the findings of scientific research in it's policy development and implimentation.
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