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ASTHMA: Is The Environment Or Dust To Blame?
Doctors are in disagreement about whether environmental pollution or dust in buildings is responsible for the upsurge in asthma cases worldwide.
Hugo Neffen, an Argentine doctor, argues that while preliminary studies show there is a correlation between the number of asthma cases and pollution, other studies conducted in two of Latin America's most polluted cities show no such relationship, reports the Santa Fe de Bogota El Tiempo.
Jonathan Samet of the Department of Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University says that the increase of asthma cases is also associated with a change in diet and lifestyle among populations. The use of cigarettes and chemicals, for instance, "has increased the exposure to ... contamination in the air inside of [buildings]," he explained.
The World Health Organization estimates that 150 million people suffer from asthma worldwide and 180,000 people die annually from complications due to asthma.
(Santa Fe de Bogota El Tiempo, 30 Jan, UN Wire translation)