Women Bearing the Brunt of Pollution 

Vijay Garg

The situation is getting out of control due to air pollution in India. According to the World Health Organization, almost the entire population of the world is breathing air in which pollutants exceed the limits of the prescribed guidelines. In 2019, about 67 lakh people died due to this. Air pollution affects people of all ages, but due to weak immunity of the elderly, it is having a fatal impact on the health of the elderly and middle-aged women. elderly women their Spend most of the time indoors. , But they are also struggling with air pollution inside the house. Due to pollution, problems related to eyes, skin, nose, throat, itching, dizziness, fatigue, blood pressure, irritability, depression, insomnia, deafness, mental diseases, stomach related diseases are continuously increasing. Recent research shows that some serious diseases have increased rapidly due to air pollution, which is badly affecting elderly women. Doctors believe that air pollution causes the most damage to the lungs and heart. chapter It is not known that twenty out of every thousand elderly people in India have become victims of dementia due to air pollution. Its prevalence is said to be higher among elderly women. According to author Professor Frank Kelly, head of Imperial's environmental research group, dementia is one of the greatest challenges to health and social care in the twenty-first century. According to a joint study conducted at Yale and Peking University, the brain is also affected due to air pollution. In this, the brain of the elderly suffers the most.Reaches. Arthur Jiabo Gang, the head of the study, says that due to air pollution, people's ability to speak is more affected. Air pollution has such a bad effect on the brain that many people are unable to even utter words to speak. This study states that if a person remains exposed to air pollution for a long time, his cognitive ability is more affected. Whenever the issue of air pollution arises, indoor air pollution is often ignored, whereas indoor air pollution is The reason for such fatal diseases is that the indoor air is as poisonous as the outdoor air; air pollution in homes is a big problem in rural areas as well. According to the study published in the journal BMC, women who are exposed to air pollution in their homes have lower memory, ability to do everyday tasks, logical and intellectual abilities than other women. Even today, in most rural homes in developing countries, about one-third of the world's population uses clay for cooking.Oil, wood, crop residues, cow dung and coal etc. are used, which causes harmful air pollution in homes. Research and data conducted in rural environments show that this danger is more dangerous for elderly and middle-aged women. Women exposed to coal have double the risk of lung cancer. A study published in 2017 by the medical journal 'Translational Psychiatry' reported that older women who live in polluted areas, including high levels of fine particulate matter, are more likely to They experience rapid aging and mental weakness. Symptoms of diseases like dementia and Alzheimer's were seen in them. A new study presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress in Barcelona, ​​Spain, has shown that breathing diesel fumes can be fatal for women. Researchers have reported changes in people's blood due to exposure to diesel exhaust. Changes in blood components related to inflammation, infection and heart disease have been found in women. according to research Outdoor air pollution may be a factor in approximately one in ten cases of lung cancer. Air pollution particles damage the DNA in cells. There may be a risk of cancer. This led a study led by Harvard T.H. to find that long-term exposure to air pollution may increase the risk of depression in the elderly. Just five days of exposure to air pollution may increase the risk of stroke in elderly women. Scientists from Columbia University's Mailman School of Public HealthA new study led by Dr. has revealed that the increasing air pollution in the environment is also dangerous for the bones of women. According to the study, exposure to air pollution with increasing age is also associated with osteoporosis along with reduction in bone mineral density in women. Because of this the risk of bone breakage increases. Even before this, research had revealed evidence that air pollution could be dangerous for women's bones. 121 increase in disability due to decreasing bone mineral density and fractures between 1990 and 2019Percentage has increased. This research suggests that long-term exposure to fine particles of air pollution increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and death in post-menopausal women. Researchers in one study also found that the greatest increase in breast cancer incidence was found in women whose exposure to 'particulate matter' levels greater than PM 2.5 was found. The smoke coming out from motor vehicles, burning oil, coal or wood smoke etc. contains more PM 2.5. elderly women towards the environment They are sensitive. They need to be aware of the dangers of how bad their air can get. What can be done to reduce it and protect ourselves from it. Monitor the air quality where they live on a daily basis. Do not go where there is more pollution. Avoid places with industrial pollution and use clean technologies for lighting. The kitchen area should be well ventilated. Maintain stoves, fireplaces and other appliances so they burn fuel efficiently. Building and paint products, cleaning and household Be careful of other common sources of indoor pollutants, including chemicals. The healthier our elders are, the less likely they are to develop health complications following exposure to air pollution.