How Air Pollution Can Be Dramatically Damaging To Your Health

KYW's Medical Reports Sponsored By Independence Blue Cross

By Dr. Brian McDonough, Medical Editor

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- We know that the damage we are doing to our environment is not good for us, both in the short and long-run. But the effects can be dramatic.

According to an article in the Journal of Environmental Health Perspectives, in 2010 air-pollution cost the United States over $5 billion in medical expenses, and lost economic productivity related to pre-term birth. Over the years, research on air-pollution has focused on its link to cardiovascular outcomes in adults and asthma exacerbation in children, but now there has been emerging literature that has found associations between air-pollution and pre-term birth.

It is quite clear that we need to take strides to do whatever we can to protect our environment, because pollutants in virtually every form can have an impact in our overall health.