Common Air, Water Pollutants Damaging Body's First Line of Defense From Toxins and Infections, Study Finds

Exposure to common environmental pollutants, such as air and water contaminants, has an adverse effect on the body's mucosal system based on the findings of the new study.

The new paper titled "Forgotten but Not Gone: Particulate Matter as Contaminations of Mucosal Systems Featured," published in the journal Biophysics Reviews, emphasizes the link between air and water pollutants and the possible human health problems they can cause.

Common Environmental Pollutants Disrupts the Body's Mucosal System

In 2020, the world experienced an era of wildfires, floods, and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Amid these problems, air and water pollutants remain a serious concern for everyone, especially how the new study showed its impact on health.

According to Phys.org, researchers from the Technical University of Munich reviewed scientific papers about how common environmental pollutants affect the mucosal system, which serves as the body's first line of defense against toxins and infections. The data they collected showed a link between exposure to air and water pollutants and several health conditions.

"Mucosal barriers are really important to protect various body systems, but that mucosal function is only there if we don't damage it," Phys.org quoted co-author Oliver Lieleg. "Sadly, our native mucosal systems are being compromised by micro- and nanoparticles present in our environment."

The study emphasized that both air and water pollution could cause four significant effects on the mucosal system:

First, it could damage the structure of the mucosal system that could create holes, which make the mucosal barrier leaky.

Secondly, pathogens and toxins could piggyback on air and water pollutants and enter the body.

Third, cells sometimes produce too much or too little mucus that is not good for optimal functioning.

Lastly, the quality of the mucus produced may become altered by the pollutants.

Researchers noted that mucus is a complex mixture of nature. It could be contaminated by carbon or microplastics that both have negative effects and disrupt the mucosal system and function.

The study demonstrates that disruption of the mucosal system is correlated to the development of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and embryonic development impairment.

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Nature and the Burden of Air and Water Pollutants

A chapter of the "Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries 2nd Edition" book published in NCBI explained that every environmental pollutant carry its own health risk that public health practitioners and decision-makers in developing countries must know.

Previous studies have estimated that environmental pollutants are linked to 23% to 30% of global diseases. The paper cited a 1997 report from the World Health Organization (WHO) that states that these diseases could include infectious, respiratory, and vectorborne diseases, like malaria.

Furthermore, they also cited WHO's 2002 report that points out that outdoor air pollution contributes 0.6% to 1.6% of the burden of these diseases in developing countries, including the high lead content in water, air, and soil that may contribute 0.9%. These numbers represent the top ten risk factors for developing the three types of diseases mentioned that are caused by environmental pollutants.

In general, air, and water pollutants coming from natural processes or man-made ones result in problematic effects on the body and threat to lives.