2023-08-08 16:02:10
Increased air pollution is potentially linked to increased risk of antibiotic resistance in all regions of the world, according to a study that highlights that this link has strengthened over time.
Photograph of Mexico City. EFE/Jose Pazos
Therefore, reducing contamination levels would greatly reduce deaths and the economic costs derived from antibiotic-resistant infections, according to The Lancet Planetary Health article.
“Antibiotic resistance and air pollution are among the biggest threats to global health in their own right,” he says. Hong Chen, from Zhejiang University (China)but until now there was “no clear idea of the possible links between the two”.
“This work suggests that the benefits of controlling pollution could be two-fold: not only would it reduce the harmful effects of poor air quality, but it could also play an important role in combating the rise and spread of drug-resistant bacteria. antibiotics”.
The drivers of resistance
Misuse and overuse of antibiotics are the main drivers of this resistance, but evidence suggests poor air quality also contributes.
Air pollution is a cocktail of many toxic components and the term PM -acronym for Particulate Matter- is used to describe a mixture of small solid and liquid particles found in the air.
These particles are divided into categories according to their size and the especially fine ones -such as PM2.5 and PM0.1- are the most worrying in terms of harmful effects on health.
This study analyzes the role of PM2.5 (2.5 micrometers), caused by industrial processes, road transport and domestic combustion of coal and wood.
7.3 billion people worldwide are directly exposed to mean annual levels of PM2.5 that are not safe and 80% of them live in low and middle income countries, according to data collected in a magazine statement.
EFE/Emilio Naranjo
The authors created a comprehensive data set to explore whether PM2.5 is a key factor driving global antibiotic resistance, using information from 116 countries from 2000 to 2018.
In all, they included data covering nine bacterial pathogens and 43 types of antibiotics. In addition, they used information on sanitation services, the economy, health spending, population, education, climate, and air pollution.
Among the data sources, the World Health Organization, the European Environment Agency and the World Bank.
The results
The results indicate that antibiotic resistance increases with PM2.5, and that each 1% increase in air pollution is linked to increases in antibiotic resistance of between 0.5 and 1.9%, depending on the pathogen.
The association has strengthened over time, with changes in PM2.5 levels leading to further increases in antibiotic resistance in recent years.
the highest levels -for this reason- are registered in the North Africa, the Middle East and South Asiawhile in Europe and North America they are low.
Due to their large populations, China and India are thought to be the countries where changes in PM2.5 have the greatest impact on the number of premature deaths from antibiotic resistance.
A man ties a scarf to protect himself from pollution at the side of one of Delhi’s main thoroughfares. EFE/ALBERTO PEÑA
The future
Analysis indicates that contamination-derived antibiotic resistance is related to about 480,000 premature deaths in 2018. This led to additional economic costs of $395 billion.
Modeling of possible future scenarios indicates that, without changes in pollution policies, by 2050 levels of antibiotic resistance worldwide could rise by 17%.
The annual number of premature deaths would rise to around 840,000, more in sub-Saharan Africa.
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