Mumbai lung functions 35% lower than European
The recent statement by WHO (World Health Organization) that 90% of people across the globe breathe polluted air should also serve as a wake-up call to Mumbai residents.
This is because, according to a recent study, it appears that the lung function of Mumbai residents is at least 30% to 35% lower than that of healthy Europeans and Americans.
The study involved 1,000-plus healthy people who were checked in a Mumbai hospital.
The study that was presented at the European Respiratory Society meeting in London recently, not only shows that Mumbaikars have a reduced lung capacity but highlights that the gap between Indians and Caucasians has been worsening over the past 20 years.
‘As part of the lung function test, we ask people to breathe out air forcefully. What the study has showed us is if a person could breathe out three litres of air a decade ago, he is breathing out almost 20% less now,’ pulmonologist Dr Sujeet Rajan said.
The deterioration in lung capacity is related to environmental pollution and changing dietary habits, says Dr Ranjan.
The lung function in 1,041 healthy people, of which 34% were women, was studied using spirometry (a machine in which air is blown).
‘Using statistical methods, we found the lung function of Mumbaikars was 25-30% lower than Europeans and 32-38% less than healthy Americans,’ said Dr Rajan, who consults at Bombay Hospital.
About 20 years ago, another study by chest specialist Dr S R Kamat published in Lung India had shown Indian test values were 20-24% lower compared with some other ethnic groups.
Incidentally, Indian lungs are known to be smaller than other ethnicities.
‘A 15-20% correction in lung function parameters is always allowed when Indians are compared with Europeans. But how can we account for a difference of 30% or more?’ Dr Rajan said, adding, ‘With increasing slowing of vehicular traffic across the city, especially in the suburbs, air pollution is definitely high.’
Air pollution levels in most Indian cities, including Mumbai, are among the highest in the world; with winter inversion barely a month away , pollution is likely to increase.
But it’s not just the dipping lung function that worries doctors.
Chest specialist Dr Sanjeev Mehta said Indian lungs were known to be smaller than their western counterparts. ‘We know that Indians suffer heart attacks more often than Westerners because we have smaller arteries. We know we have smaller lungs, but if our lung function is going to reduce because of air pollution we are staring at a greater health calamity than we thought,’ said Dr Mehta.
The recent Global Burden of Diseases Study showed a third of deaths in India are caused by heart attacks, lung obstructions and strokes.
Everyone’s contribution in making Mumbai air cleaner is the only way out, as the Mumbai lung cannot be made bigger!
