Scotland at the heart of global challenges
Clean air is vital to a safe lifestyle. Even short-term exposure to air pollution can have negative impacts on wellbeing, while continuous exposure can damage every organ in the human body. The United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) designed as a blueprint for a more sustainable future, recognises that 99% of the world’s urban population breathes in polluted air, and places an improvement in air quality at the centre of SDG11: Sustainable Cities and Communities.
In February 2023, the Scottish Parliament hosted Scotland at the Heart of Meeting Global Challenges, an event that celebrated the role of Scottish research in tackling the SDGs. This event was organised by the Physiological Society and the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE), two of the primary institutions engaging with scientific research in Scotland. The event was an opportunity to connect policymakers and other stakeholders to research that address our most pressing problems. In attendance was Dr Mary Abed Al Ahad from the School of Geography and Sustainable Development who presented her research on the impact of air pollution on mortality and hospital admissions in Scotland.
Dr Abed Al Ahad’s work focuses on the effect of air pollution on self-reported health, wellbeing, mortality, and hospital admissions by ethnicity in the UK. Using data from the Scottish Longitudinal Study (SLS), which covers factors including migration, births, deaths, marriages and education to represent broad demographic changes, and data from the UK Household Longitudinal Studey (UKHLS), which covers socio-demographic characteristics and lifestyle factors, Dr Abed Al Ahad demonstrated an association between increased exposure to higher levels of air pollution and increased hospital admission and mortality rates in Scotland. Similarly, Dr Abed Al Ahad found an association between higher exposure to air pollution and higher rates of hospital admissions, GP visits, and poor self-reported general health in the UK by linking detailed air pollution data to the UKHLS data.
The greatest impact on respiratory, infectious, cardiovascular, and cancer diseases was shown for pollution comprised of relatively small particles with diameters of less than 2.5 μm. These fine particles derive from many sources, including car exhaust emissions, and certain types of industries such as mining and construction. For every 1 μg/m3 increase in cumulative exposure to these particles, respiratory hospital admissions increased by 12% and the mortality rate increased by 11%.
Dr Abed Al Ahad showed that the effects of air pollution go beyond physical wellbeing, with significant demonstrable effects to mental and behavioural health. She also demonstrated the importance of her work to Scottish public health policy, using a map of Scotland to show that nitrogen dioxide emissions in 2017 exceeded the 2021 WHO recommended maximums in some areas of Scotland’s Central Belt.
These findings make a compelling argument for the introduction of measures to lower air pollution levels, which would lead to a more sustainable future and improved public health. Dr Abed Al Ahad suggests that introducing stricter measures on industries, and encouraging the usage of renewable energy in transportation and energy production, would make huge strides towards a safer environment in which to raise future generations.