Did you know that high levels of ozone, wood smoke, and other types of pollution are found in most U.S. cities, as well as some rural communities? What’s even more devastating, exposure to such pollution can seriously impact a person’s health. And, the negative impact is quite evident in people suffering from lung disease, especially chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Ozone Pollution and Respiratory Health

Ground-level ozone pollution is a result of the interaction of industrial pollutants with sunlight. It is indeed the main component found in the smog around big cities. According to one study, long-term exposure to ozone pollution can significantly increase the risk of lung disease and the severity of the disease among smokers, both current and former.

Furthermore, as already mentioned, former and current smokers have higher chances of developing chronic lung disease and are especially prone to environmental triggers for flare-ups. And logically, those who smoke are even more susceptible to COPD, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema.

Data collected from former and current smokers aged 40-80 from various cities across the U.S. showed that people who had been exposed to high levels of ozone pollution over the past 10 years were more likely to suffer from COPD and have a severe exacerbation of the condition. The same research also found that ozone exposure increases the risk of emphysema.

In addition, researchers have noted that active smoking cannot outweigh the effect of ozone. Briefly put, smokers are normally at the highest risk of developing COPD and their risk gets even higher with ozone exposure. And, this effect was notable regardless of the level of exposure, high or low, meaning that there’s no healthy level of ozone.

But, that’s not all! High levels of ozone don’t only affect respiratory health. Namely, exposure to ozone pollution can also harm cardiovascular health. In fact, long-term exposure may have similar effects on heart disease as on lung disease. This may lead to a conclusion that the negative effects of ozone pollution most likely go beyond what these studies show.

Wood Smoke and Respiratory Health

Wood smoke is made up of a mixture of gases and fine particles, also referred to as PM, particulate matter, or particle pollution. It also contains several toxic pollutants like benzene, formaldehyde, acrolein, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

Another study shows that wood smoke, released in neighborhoods where the primary heating source is wood, is linked to a higher prevalence of lung disease among those residents of such communities who don’t even smoke. Precisely speaking, even a 1% increase in the number of homes that use wood for heating up was connected to a 12% increased risk of COPD among those who have never smoked.

What’s more, according to the study, 4.1% of people in rural areas used wood for primary heating, contrary to 0.6% in urban areas. That said, we can conclude that people living in rural communities are more susceptible to suffering from the negative effects of wood smoke pollution. The truth is that even a little time spent outside daily, the cumulative effect over the years can damage respiratory health.

The bottom line, researchers are constantly trying to gather new data and conduct new studies that will raise awareness of the negative effects of exposure to ozone pollution or wood smokes on respiratory health. Meanwhile, we should all try to reduce the negative impact humanity has on air pollution and thus protect ourselves.“Even if you spend very little time outside, the cumulative effect of pollution over many years seems adequate to have a negative impact on respiratory health,” says Nadia Hansel, M.D., M.P.H., director of the pulmonary and critical care division, professor of medicine and associate dean for research at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and author of both studies.