Medical study links smog in North with rising cases of respiratory diseases

[webfact]

Medical study links smog in North with rising cases of respiratory diseases

By Pratch Rujivanarom 
The Nation 

 

 

A medical report has pointed to serious health threats from air pollution in smog-prone areas, and the northern region was found to be a hotspot for asthma and other major respiratory diseases.

 

The higher death rate from three main respiratory diseases – asthma, lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) – in the northern region, which was disclosed in the study on geographical inequalities of mortality in Thailand by Suchunya Aungkulanon’s research team, highlighted that health threats from air pollution are real.

 

The result of this study was related to reports about air pollution and asthma by World Health Organisation (WHO) and UN Environment on the occasion of World Asthma Day yesterday, which emphasised that air pollution was the major factor behind the severe asthma situation around the world.

 

The report, first published in the International Journal for Equity in Health in December 2016, revealed that from the study of standardised mortality ratio of 12 major health threats based on each locality in Thailand during the period from 2001 to 2014, it was found that there was a noticeable clustering of high mortality from asthma, lung cancer and COPD in almost every province in the northern region.

 

 

Even though the report did not confirm a clear connection between the high mortality rate from respiratory diseases in this part of Thailand and the northern seasonal smog, it hinted that the cluster of respiratory diseases in the North may be a reflection of the severity of the air pollution crisis in the area.

 

The report also found a considerably high death rate from asthma in the southern region, as five provinces in the deep South – Satun, Songkhla, Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat – were depicted in red on the geographical annual cause-specific standardised mortality ratio map.

 

The northern region and the deep South were two prominent regions affected the most by seasonal smog. The smog in the South, primarily caused by wildfires and deforestation in Indonesia, has largely been resolved in recent years. The North, however, was still continuously suffering from dense smog of very fine PM2.5 particulate matter every dry season.

 

Dr Chanchai Sittipunt, a medical lecturer at Chulalongkorn University and vice president of Thoracic Society of Thailand, said the research result was interesting, as it showed evidence of localised air pollution affecting people’s health. More studies will be needed to clarify the influence of each factor on the high mortality rate from respiratory diseases there, he added.

 

“PM2.5 ambient particulate matters are not the only bad guys here; there are several other factors that could trigger respiratory diseases, for instance individual smoking habits, indoor air pollution from cooking and second-hand smoke,” Chanchai said.

 

“However, this study is giving us a very clear message: that the authorities and every stakeholder should do something right now to protect the people from exposure to hazardous air pollution and prevent the long-term serious health threats from the seasonal smog problem.”

 

According to 2015 statistics with the Public Health Ministry of patients suffering from respiratory diseases, there were 115,577 asthma patients and 249,742 COPD patients in the hospitals. The report by Aungkulanon’s team also showed an increasing trend of COPD and lung cancer rates in the North.

 

WHO estimates that at least 235 million people around the world are currently suffering from asthma, while around 383,000 people died from this incurable chronic disease in 2015 alone.

 

It was noted by WHO that the strongest risk factor for developing asthma is an environmental exposure to inhaled substances and particles that may provoke allergic reactions or irritate the airways.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30369008

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-05-08

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[SmartyMarty]

no shit sherlock. I would never have been able to link smog to breathing problems without the help of the medical profession.

[donnacha]

39 minutes ago, SmartyMarty said:

no shit sherlock. I would never have been able to link smog to breathing problems without the help of the medical profession.

Amazing! I came here to post exactly the same phrase: "no shit sherlock" ????

Two things of note from that fascinating diagram:

1. I had no idea that the North was such an HIV danger zone. Sobering.

2. The North does not (yet) appear to be experiencing the increase in strokes and heart disease which we would expect from being exposed to such high levels of pollution. My guess would be that the pulmonary stuff is a more early manifestation, and we will see the other effects emerge over the next decade or so. I would also guess that it will take several years before the full extent of the pulmonary and cancer damage to the population will emerge.


As I always try to warn people, the North of Thailand is a very special place but under no circumstances should anyone with options stay there between mid-January and the end of April. That is one-third of the year that you have to write-off.

The pollution you can see is not the pollution that most damages your lungs. If you are actually seeing the smog you have left it too late.

My rule of thumb is to catch a flight as soon cheaper tickets are available after the New Year, the prices are usually sky-high for the first few days of the year, but get out as soon as it is practical to do so.

It does not matter where you go, other parts of Thailand are fine options too, just don't make the mistake of thinking you are saving money by exposing yourself to some of the highest levels of air pollution in history. Pulmonary, cardiac and neurological ailments are debilitating, painful and shockingly expensive to treat, even in Thailand.
 

 

Edited May 7, 2019 by donnacha

[AlexRich]

It appears that traffic death/injury is evenly spread around Thailand. No idea why HIV is more prevalent in the north of Thailand (looks like CM/CR)?

 

Smog prone areas generate respiratory illnesses? Quelle surprise! 

[wisperone]

"No idea why HIV is more prevalent in the north of Thailand (looks like CM/CR)?"

 

I would guess non protection and perhaps drug/needle transmission

[bluesofa]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

A medical report has pointed to serious health threats from air pollution in smog-prone areas, and the northern region was found to be a hotspot for asthma and other major respiratory diseases.

I'm sure that by next week the problem will disappear just as soon as Prayut bans the reporting  of this fake news.

[Thailand]

My half blind partially deaf 14 year old Shih Tzu came to the same conclusion.

[Puchaiyank]

While air quality is moderate in the NE...it is still unhealthy...in recent weeks have developed breathing problems...wheezing at night...using puffer and nasal spray helps some...

 

If air quality does not improve...may go to plan B... 

[at15]

26 minutes ago, Puchaiyank said:

While air quality is moderate in the NE...it is still unhealthy...in recent weeks have developed breathing problems...wheezing at night...using puffer and nasal spray helps some...

 

If air quality does not improve...may go to plan B... 

if you average all months of the year, the northeast is actually the worst

[cmsally]

3 hours ago, SmartyMarty said:

no shit sherlock. I would never have been able to link smog to breathing problems without the help of the medical profession.

I , also came here, to post that exact same phrase !!!

[Aussie999]

"Medical study links smog in North with rising cases of respiratory diseases," geniuses. 

[Aussieroaming]

23 minutes ago, cmsally said:

I , also came here, to post that exact same phrase !!!

Me too, i was gutted to find it already used numerous times.

[unamazedloso]

Whats interesting is that there are people demending government funding and a new taskforce to go out and catch people and put out fires but this already exists. Police, forestry department and army are there to up hold the law and all have the right or i should say duty to stop this and fire brigades are supposed to put out out fires. Its just these idiots are too stupid and lazy. Nothing will ever be done. Stupid government allows continuing burning which serves absolutely no purposes what's so ever apart from killing the population Its insanity!

I wonder if the government believes that the slow killing of people is justified so that just a small group of people can take mushrooms, illegally farm, save time clearing/mulching fields. Seems backwards to me and far more effective to put a bullet in every idiot lighting fires. Who's more important a pathetic undedicated few or the rest...??

[Muhendis]

Interesting and quite scary but the map information is over 5 years old. I would like to see same information for current years. I would bet on it being worse.

[Xonax]

Did they really need to make a study, in order to figure that out?

What will possibly be next?  A study proving, that the smog is also responsible for thousands of deaths?

Edited May 8, 2019 by Xonax

[henry15]

2 hours ago, wisperone said:

"No idea why HIV is more prevalent in the north of Thailand (looks like CM/CR)?"

 

I would guess non protection and perhaps drug/needle transmission

Its the promiscuity of the Hill Tribes.

[Tracyb]

Hmmm, smog that reduces visibility to 50 meters and high levels of PM 2.5 actually affect people’s lungs?  Who would have thought?

 

(sarcasm here, of course)

 

How many people have to be stricken or die before the govt takes action, and by action I mean more than spraying water into the air near the air quality sensors in CM.

 

now where did I put my Symbicort inhaler?.....

Edited May 8, 2019 by Tracyb

[Graemej100]

4 hours ago, SmartyMarty said:

no shit sherlock. I would never have been able to link smog to breathing problems without the help of the medical profession.

My thought exactly.

[Xonax]

The study also shows, that Lao Khao seems to be the cause of Liver Cancer.

[mikebell]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

first published in the International Journal for Equity in Health in December 2016

So why has stating the bleedin' obvious taken over three years to surface?

[RotBenz8888]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

“However, this study is giving us a very clear message: that the authorities and every stakeholder should do something right now to protect the people from exposure to hazardous air pollution and prevent the long-term serious health threats from the seasonal smog problem.”

A warning to tourists?

[30la]

I do not understand why we speak only of the north.
Waste, forest and fields are burned with impunity throughout Thailand!
Here in Nakhon Sawan, for example, you can't see a clear sky for months, and this is not because of bad weather but because of the many fires.
A radical remedy must be found for this problem before it is too late!

[totally thaied up]

Nothing will be done. This is Thailand. Profit before health. 

[mrjohn]

9 minutes ago, Xonax said:

The study also shows, that Lao Khao seems to be the cause of Liver Cancer.

Lao Khao certainly doesn't help but I think you'll find the prevalence of liver cancer in the north-east is thought to be down to Plaa Raa

[Berkshire]

4 hours ago, AlexRich said:

No idea why HIV is more prevalent in the north of Thailand (looks like CM/CR)?

Noticed that as well.  It's also prevalent down in Rayong/Pattaya. 

[StevieAus]

26 minutes ago, unamazedloso said:

Whats interesting is that there are people demending government funding and a new taskforce to go out and catch people and put out fires but this already exists. Police, forestry department and army are there to up hold the law and all have the right or i should say duty to stop this and fire brigades are supposed to put out out fires. Its just these idiots are too stupid and lazy. Nothing will ever be done. Stupid government allows continuing burning which serves absolutely no purposes what's so ever apart from killing the population Its insanity!

I wonder if the government believes that the slow killing of people is justified so that just a small group of people can take mushrooms, illegally farm, save time clearing/mulching fields. Seems backwards to me and far more effective to put a bullet in every idiot lighting fires. Who's more important a pathetic undedicated few or the rest...??

Another one on this site who doesn’t know what he is talking about, come up to the North beyond Chiang Mai and you will find that the army did go around warning hill farmers not to burn also there have been attempts to put out fires.

My brother in law is in charge of emergency services in one area and they spent days trying to extinguish fires in the mountains at Doi An Khang and that had to be done without the fire fighting equipment they have in Australia and the US.

As far as as taking action against the people lighting fires as he told me unless they catch them in in the act they are powerless the same way that arsonists who light bush fires in Australia escape.

 As an expert in this area perhaps next year you can come and help I am sure they would appreciate your assistance.

[johnny49r]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

A medical report has pointed to serious health threats from air pollution in smog-prone areas,

Wow, you think? 

Is it just me or is this 'report' too little - too late? Everyone knows that smog is not good for your health and everyone knows the causes of pollution. The people don't need more reports stating the obvious, they need some corrective action from whoever is in charge this week. Harrumph!

[spidermike007]

They required a study, and scientists to conduct this study? You could have asked benny the clown, and he would have come to the same conclusions. Now, what will the junta do about it? Anything? Or nothing, as they have been doing for the past 61 months. 

[Sir Swagman]

Also in breaking news.....the medical profession has determined, after much study, that the sudden stop following jumping from high places may cause serious injury or even death.

[hotchilli]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

The higher death rate from three main respiratory diseases – asthma, lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) – in the northern region, which was disclosed in the study on geographical inequalities of mortality in Thailand by Suchunya Aungkulanon’s research team, highlighted that health threats from air pollution are real.

Only the local officials doubted this...