The air we breathe and lung disease

While some of us may drink only bottled water and eat only organically-grown food, we all breathe the outdoor air. This notion has important implications for public health, because health effects of air pollution are exerted across entire populations. Many epidemiologic studies have associated exposure to air pollution with adverse pulmonary outcomes, including reduced lung function, hospitalization for respiratory causes, and cardiopulmonary mortality. Because these exposures affect everybody, air pollution remains a major public health concern in the United States (US), where air pollution levels are relatively low, and around the world.