Respiratory disease cases rose by 5 million since 2012: Government

NEW DELHI: Air pollution may be posing a rising health risk in India as the number of cases of acute respiratory infection have risen by 5 million since 2012 even though deaths have declined in the same period, government data released on Tuesday evening show.

Cases of ARI have been rising even before 2012 though deaths began to decline since that year. The government report notes the strong association between air pollution and respiratory diseases. While ARI cases rose by 5 million, deaths due to the condition reduced marginally. As many as 2,932 people died due to acute respiratory infection in 2014, as against 3513 in the previous year, according to the ‘National Health Profile 2015’ released by health minister J P Nadda.

The report's profile stated that air pollution leads to a wide array of health effects, of which ARI “has accounted for the maximum number of cases” while noting that “over the years, acute respiratory infections cases are showing an increasing trend”.

The increasing trend in number of ARI cases is clearly discernible since 2011. The National Health Profile 2015, published by Central Bureau of Health Intelligence (CBHI), covers demographic, socio-economic, health status and health finance indicators, along with comprehensive information on health infrastructure and human resources in health.

Around 3.5 crore ARI cases were reported in 2014, out of which 1.7 crore were females and 1.8 crore were men, the data show. TOI had earlier reported that on an average more than 2.6 crore cases of ARI were reported in India every year, whereas over 35,000 people died due to the air pollution-linked disease across the country in close to 10 years. The data were presented by the environment ministry to Parliament during the monsoon session this year, in a rare official admission that pollution could be causing deaths on a large scale.

However, international studies have attributed far more deaths to air pollution in India. A WHO assessment, reported by TOI in May, showed India and China as worst affected countries as compared to the global average of deaths due to air pollution. It also noted pollution is sharply increasing in developing countries leading to various serious health problems.

Air pollution is an important -- and avoidable -- cause of disease and death globally. A total of 8 million deaths, mostly in developing countries, are associated with exposure to indoor and outdoor air pollution. Exposure to air pollution is a leading risk factor for non-communicable diseases, in particular: ischaemia, myocardial infarction (coronary thrombosis), stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cancers.

In Delhi, close to 3,39,506 ARI cases and 104 deaths were reported in 2014. However, deaths due to the disease in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal were much higher at 619 and 625, respectively.