SBI General Insurance conducts a study on impact of air pollution on health of people in Ludhiana

Ludhiana, July 12, 2016:SBI General Insurance Company Ltd, one of India’s fastest growing general insurance companies, in partnership with Sustainable Solutions for Environment has conducted a study on the impact of air pollution on the health of people in the cities of India. The study revealed some interesting insights on respiratory illnesses which are mainly caused due to the Particulate Matter (PM10), Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) and Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) pollutants present in the air. Air pollution is generally measured in PM10, SO2 and NO2 concentrations.
The study was conducted in 8 cities including: Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai, Kanpur, Mumbai, Delhi and Ludhiana. The population (sample size) for this study is as per the last Census conducted in the year 2011. Delhi, Kanpur and Mumbai have the maximum impact of air pollution on the health of the population exposed. The three major pollutants which are found in these cities are much higher than the recommended level, thus, leading to a number of respiratory illnesses such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Allergic Rhinitis, Cardiac Ailments, Breathlessness etc.
Amongst all the illnesses caused due to PM10 and NO2 pollutants, Allergic Rhinitis has been found to be the highest across cities. When the population is exposed to SO2 pollutant across cities, it is noticed that maximum cases of Cardiac Ailments have been reported.
When we view the findings across cities some interesting insights can be highlighted. Delhi has seen the maximum cases of respiratory illnesses, like COPD, Allergic rhinitis, to the population exposed to PM10 and NO2. In Ludhiana and Kanpur number of cases of respiratory illnesses to the population exposed to PM10, NO2 and SO2 are low. SO2 content in the air is comparatively low in northern region. In the case of SO2 pollutant, Bangalore has the maximum illnesses, to the population exposed, to it. This would be followed by Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Delhi, Ludhiana, Mumbai and Kanpur.
Mick Miller, SVP Claims, SBI General Insurance said, “Our internal claims data of last two financial years show, that stroke is now also linked with air pollution. This is a startling trend that has emerged, given the fact that stroke cases are generally associated with smoking, poor diet and less physical activity.Of the total claims received, it was also noticed that Bronchitis has appeared to be a common respiratory illness for which claims were made.The reasons could be advancing age, smoking, asthma, use of impure cooking fuels and added to this list is the increasing environmental pollution.”
Thus, from the present study we can conclude that air pollution is seriously damaging the health of population of India. These findings can be useful in increasing public awareness on environment and also averting and mitigating health risks.