Bangladeshis' lifespan most affected in the world, study finds

The average citizen of Bangladesh loses 1.87 years of their lifespan due to air pollution, the highest in the world, according to a new study.

Bangladesh placed top among 185 countries in terms of average years of life expectancy lost due to exposure to PM2.5 (air pollutants smaller than 2.5 microns), in a study titled “Ambient PM2.5 Reduces Global and Regional Life Expectancy” published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology Letters on August 22.

Bangladesh was followed by Egypt (1.85 years), Pakistan (1.56 years), India (1.53 years), Saudi Arabia (1.48 years), Nigeria (1.28 years), and China (1.25 years) on the list.

Researchers from University of Texas, University of British Columbia, Brigham Young University in Utah, Imperial College London and the Boston-based Health Effects Institute in the research used data from the Global Burden of Disease project and actuarial standard life table methods to estimate global and national decrements in life expectancy that can be attributed to ambient PM2.5 for 185 countries.

The PM2.5 concentration in Bangladesh is at 98.6 microgrammes per cubic metre, compared to Egypt's 120, Pakistan's 73.6, India's 74.1, Chad's 81.7, Nigeria's 119 and China's 55.2, as per the report.

The paper also says is PM2.5 concentrations worldwide were limited to the World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guideline concentration of 10 microgrammes per cubic metre, global life expectancy would be on an average 0.59 year longer, and the benefit of reaching this stringent target would be especially large in countries with the highest current levels of pollution, with approximately 0.8–1.4 years of additional survival in countries such as Egypt, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China and Nigeria.

For the case of Bangladesh, if the PM2.5 levels were to be reduced from the current 98.6 microgrammes per cubic metre to 10, the study estimated that the potential increments in life expectancy would be 1.33 years, also the biggest improvement in life expectancy among all affected countries.

For the 2016 population, 95 percent of the global population are exposed to levels of PM2.5 that exceed the WHO's recommended level, according to the researchers.

“For much of Asia, if air pollution were removed as a risk for death, 60-year olds would have a 15 percent to 20 percent higher chance of living to age 85 or older,” lead author Joshua Apte was quoted by Science Daily web site as saying regarding the study.