Effect of PM2.5 on the Incidence of Asthma in Children

Abstract

As the global air pollution problem becomes increasingly serious, PM2.5 poses a significant threat to human health as a major pollutant, with children being susceptible to respiratory diseases such as asthma. This study aims to explore the effect of PM2.5 on the number of asthma incidences in children. We selected three countries with significant differences in air pollution levels between 2010 and 2019: Australia, China, and India. We analyzed the trends and correlations between the annual average PM2.5 concentrations and the number of asthma incidence and casualties among people under 20 years of age using the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) data. The results show that all three countries show a weak negative correlation (mean R ≈ -0.518), contrary to theoretical expectations. Discussions suggest that this result may stem from data limitations, differences in health reporting systems between countries, and an underestimation of true exposure levels by aggregated data. This study sheds light on the complexities of conducting environmental health research on a global scale and highlights the importance of deciphering the socio-political context behind the data.