This is an archive article published on September 3, 2019

Household air pollution leading cause of cardiovascular disease in high-income countries

Household air pollution an important risk factor for cardiac deaths in low-income countries,

3 min readPuneUpdated: Sep 3, 2019 04:14 PM IST

neophobia, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, indian express, indian express news

It was estimated that 55 million deaths occurred in the world in 2017, of which 17.7 million were due to cardiovascular disease. (Photo: istock/Getty Images Plus)

Household air pollution is becoming an important cause of not only overall mortality but also cardiovascular mortality in low-income countries. This is hardly seen as a cause in the high-income countries where the traditional risk factors like cholesterol, blood pressure, diabetes and obesity are major causes of death due to cardiovascular diseases.

However, in low-income countries like India, 12.5 per cent of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) is due to household air pollution. “This is actually a window of opportunity to prevent mortality due to CVD because if the household air pollution can be controlled, we can see significant decrease in mortality in India,” Dr V Mohan, Director Madras Diabetes Research Foundation told The Indian Express Tuesday. He is one of the authors of the study published in ‘The Lancet’.

Two reports from the Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiologic (PURE) study published online in The Lancet and presented at the European Society of Cardiology 2019, provides information on the common disease incidence, hospitalisation and death and modifiable cardiovascular risk factors in middle-aged adults across 21 high income, middle income and low-income countries.

CVD remains the leading cause of mortality among middle-aged adults globally, accounting for 40 per cent of all deaths, but this is no longer the case in high-income countries, where cancer is now responsible for twice as many deaths as CVD, according to the PURE study.

It was estimated that 55 million deaths occurred in the world in 2017, of which 17.7 million were due to CVD. According to The Lancet, a higher incidence of CVD and related deaths were found in low-income countries as against the high-income countries.

Countries analysed in these two reports from the PURE Study include: Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, India, Iran, Malaysia, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Poland, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Sweden, Tanzania, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Zimbabwe.

Dr Salim Yusuf, Professor of Medicine, McMaster University, and principal investigator of the study remarked: “While long-term CVD prevention and management strategies have proved successful in reducing the burden in high-income countries, a change in tack is required to alleviate the disproportionately high impact of CVD in low-income countries and middle-income countries. Governments in these countries need to start by investing a greater portion of their Gross Domestic Product in preventing and managing non- communicable diseases including CVD, rather than focussing largely on infectious diseases.”

Anuradha Mascarenhas

Anuradha Mascarenhas is a Senior Editor at The Indian Express, based in Pune. With a career spanning three decades, she is one of the most respected voices in Indian journalism regarding healthcare, science and environment and research developments. She also takes a keen interest in covering women's issues . Professional Background Education: A gold medalist in Communication and Journalism from Savitribai Phule Pune University and a Master’s degree in Literature. Author: She authored the biography At The Wheel Of Research, which chronicles the life and work of Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the former Chief Scientist at the WHO. Key Focus: She combines scientific accuracy with storytelling, translating complex medical research into compelling public and human-interest narratives. Awards and Recognition Anuradha has won several awards including the Press Council of India's national award for excellence in journalism under the gender based reporting category in 2019 and the Laadli Media award (gender sensitivity -2024). A recipient of the Lokmat journalism award (gender category-2022), she was also shortlisted for the RedInk awards for excellence in journalism-2021. Her debut book At The Wheel Of Research, an exclusive biography of Dr Soumya Swaminathan the inaugural chief scientist of World Health Organisation was also nominated in the Popular Choice Category of JK Paper AUTHER awards. She has also secured competitive fellowships including the Laadli Media Fellowship (2022), the Survivors Against TB – New Research in TB Media Fellowship (2023) and is part of the prestigious 2025 India Cohort of the WomenLift Health Leadership Journey.” Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) 1. Cancer & Specialized Medical Care "Tata Memorial finds way to kill drug-resistant cancer cells" (Nov 26, 2025): Reporting on a breakthrough for triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. Discipline, diet and purpose; How a 97-year-old professor defies ageing'' (Nov 15, 2025) Report about Prof Gururaj Mutalik, the first Head of Department at Pune's B J Government Medical College who at 97 credits his longevity to healthy habits and a strong sense of purpose. 2. Environmental Health (The "Breathless Pune" Series) Long-term exposure even to 'moderate' air leads to chronic heart, lung, kidney issues" (Nov 26, 2025): Part of an investigative series highlighting that even "safe" pollution levels are damaging to vital organs. "For every 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 level, there was 6-8% jump in medicine sales" (Nov 23, 2025): Using commercial data to prove the direct link between air quality and respiratory illnesses in Pune. 3. Lifestyle & Wellness News "They didn't let cancer, diabetes and heart disease stop them from travelling" (Dec 22, 2025): A collaborative piece featuring survivors who share practical tips for traveling with chronic conditions. At 17, his BP shot up to 200/120 mmHG; Lancet study flags why child and teen hypertension doubled between 2000 and 2020'' (Nov 12,2025)--A report that focusses on 17-year-old-boy's hypertensive crisis and reflects the rising global trend of high blood pressure among children and adolescents. 4. Scientific Recognition & Infrastructure For promoting sci-comm, gender diversity: IUCAA woman prof highlighted in Nature" (Nov 25, 2025): Covering the global recognition of Indian women scientists in gender studies and physics. Pune researchers find a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way from early universe'' (December 3, 2025)- A report on how Indian researchers discovered a massive galaxy that existed when the universe was just 1.5 billion years old , one of the earliest to have been observed so far. Signature Beat: Health, Science & Women in Leadership Anuradha is known for her COVID-19 reportage, where she was one of the first journalists to provide detailed insights into the Covishield and Covaxin trials. She has a dedicated interest in gender diversity in health and science, often profiling women researchers who are breaking the "leaky pipeline" in STEM fields. Her writing style is scrupulous, often featuring interviews with top-tier scientists and health experts from various institutions. ... Read More

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