Pollution is bad for our health, and it should blow your mind why politicians don’t care and continue to allow polluters get away with so much.

In a study published in PLOS One Global Public Health, researchers from China analyzed data from 19,098 respondents of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) survey from 2011 to 2015 from the ages of 45 to 85 years old. The investigators also utilized fine particulate matter air pollution, PM2.5, exposure data over 15 years via satellite data.

Their research revealed that four distinct clusters of multimorbidity was associated with increased air pollution compared to a healthy group. The groups were respiratory cluster represented by mainly lung diseases, musculoskeletal cluster mainly represented by osteoarthritis and rheumatism, and cardio-metabolic mainly represented by hypertension. For each 1µg/m3 increase in cumulative exposure to PM2.5 over 15 years lead toa 2.4% increased chance of landing in the lung cluster, 1.5% increased chance of being in the musculoskeletal cluster, and 3.3% chance of landing in the cardio-metabolic cluster.

Air pollution is a major threat to global public health across all nations. It can be a pretty solvable solution to improve the lives of many if only politicians and big polluters gave a damn.

K Hu et al. A longitudinal analysis of PM2.5 exposure and multimorbidity clusters and accumulation among adults aged 45-85 in China. PLOS Global Public Health. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0000520