Atmospheric pollution: its effects on the respiratory system

It is now established that the presence of enviromental pollution in our cities today has serious effects on the broncho-pulmonary system, effects that are largely linked to the traffic situation. Although the risks correlated to the deterioration in the air we breathe have been well known since the 1950s, only recently have epidemiological and clinical studies shown the close interrelation between the increase in pollution (in particular, of small particles) and damage to our lungs (and not only). Respiratory diseases in the last twenty years have undergone an exponential rise, in contrast to the situation with many other diseases, e.g. cardiovascular diseases, which have shown a progressive decline. If medicine in general has made enormous strides ahead and achieved excellent results, the same can be said only in part for lung diseases: the environment in fact plays a negative role and favours the insurgence or manifestation of conditions, for which the principal cause is atmospheric pollutants.