Dangerous link between air pollution and rise in antibiotic resistance

Air pollution is fueling antibiotic resistance, a significant threat to public health around the world, according to a global study.

An analysis using data from over 100 countries spanning nearly two decades shows that increased air pollution is associated with rising antibiotic resistance in every country and every continent.

It also suggests that the link between the two has strengthened over time as rising levels of air pollution have coincided with a larger rise in antibiotic resistance.

“Our analysis provides strong evidence that rising levels of air pollution are associated with an increased risk of developing antibiotic resistance,” researchers from China and the UK wrote. “This analysis is the first to show how air pollution affects antibiotic resistance worldwide.” The results of the study are published in the Lancet Planetary Health journal.

Antibiotic resistance is one of the fastest growing threats to global health, according to The Guardian. It can affect people of any age in any country and is already estimated to kill 1.3 million people a year.

The main factors are still the misuse of antibiotics, which are used to treat infections. But the study suggests the problem is compounded by rising levels of air pollution.

The study did not address the scientific question of why the two phenomena might be related. According to the authors, available evidence suggests that PM2.5 particulate matter may contain antibiotic-resistant bacteria and resistance genes that can be transmitted from environment to environment and directly inhaled by humans.

Air pollution is already considered the biggest environmental risk to public health. Long-term exposure to air pollution has been linked to chronic diseases such as heart disease, asthma and lung cancer, shortening life expectancy.

Short-term exposure to high levels of pollution can cause coughing, wheezing and asthma attacks, leading to increased visits to hospitals and physicians around the world.

Limiting air pollution could help reduce antibiotic resistance, the first in-depth global analysis of possible links between the two, according to the study. It also stated that combating air pollution could significantly reduce the mortality and economic costs associated with antibiotic-resistant infections.

The lead author of the study, Professor Hong Chen of Zhejiang University in China, notes: “Antibiotic resistance and air pollution are themselves among the greatest threats to global health. Until now, we have not had a clear picture of the possible links between the two, but this work suggests that the benefits of combating air pollution may be twofold: not only will it reduce the harmful effects of poor air quality, but it may also play an important role in combating air pollution. growth and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.”

While air is recognized as a direct route for the spread of antibiotic resistance, there is limited evidence on the various ways in which antibiotic resistance genes are transmitted through air pollution.

Potential pathways include hospitals, farms, and wastewater treatment plants that release and spread antibiotic-resistant particles through the air and then over long distances.

Until now, there was limited evidence on how much PM2.5 air pollution, consisting of particles 30 times smaller than the thickness of a human hair, affects antibiotic resistance worldwide.

Sources of PM2.5 are road traffic, industrial processes and residential combustion of coal and wood. The data show that 7.3 billion people worldwide are directly exposed to unsafe average annual levels of PM2.5.

The authors created an extensive dataset to investigate whether PM2.5 is a key determinant of global antibiotic resistance using data from 116 countries from 2000 to 2018. Data sources were the World Health Organization, the European Environment Agency and the World Bank.

Findings indicate that antibiotic resistance increases with increasing PM2.5, with every 10% increase in air pollution associated with a 1.1% increase in antibiotic resistance.

Over time, this association has strengthened, and changes in PM2.5 levels in recent years have led to an even greater increase in antibiotic resistance. The analysis shows that antibiotic resistance resulting from air pollution was associated with an estimated 480,000 premature deaths in 2018.

Modeling possible future scenarios shows that if there were no changes in current air pollution policy, by 2050 levels of antibiotic resistance worldwide could increase by 17%. The annual number of premature deaths associated with antibiotic resistance could rise to around 840,000.

The authors acknowledged the limitations of their study. According to them, the lack of data in some countries may have affected the overall analysis.

The study was observational and therefore could not prove a causal relationship. According to its members, future research should focus on understanding the underlying mechanism of how air pollution affects antibiotic resistance.

A second study published in the journal BMJ Mental Health found that exposure to relatively high levels of air pollution was associated with increased use of community mental health services by people with dementia. The long-term study focused on a large area of ​​London with heavy traffic.