Breakdown the impact of air pollution along with socio-economic factors on public health using people perceptions: A case study of Rourkela, India
Abstract
Introduction: The effect of air ambient pollution on human health is a widely discussed subject among environmental experts and socio-economists worldwide. Despite a large number of research being conducted on the topic, the relationship between public health and air quality in Indian cities remains questionable. The study was carried out to assess the impact of air pollution on the health of people of different socio-economic section of the society.
Materials and methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among the residents of Rourkela city who were exposed to air pollution, and the logistic regression model was applied.
Results: The findings revealed that human health is significantly impacted by air pollution in terms of flu/fever (46%), runny nose/cold (36 %) and others respiratory and cardiovascular disease. The individuals who were breathing in polluted air were 10.65 times more likely to have gotten sick from air pollution (β=2.37; SE=0.33; p<0.01) when compared to the people who were not breathing in polluted air. In contrast, a rise of one unit in the AQI in Rourkela corresponds to an 8.4% higher chance of being ill due to air pollution-related diseases (β=0.08; SE=0.02; p˂0.01). A high, rising linear trend (R2=0.67) of mortality by major air pollution-related diseases was also recorded in Rourkela during the period of 2016–2022. Hence, it is evidenced that rising AQI values correspond to rising health hazards associated with air pollution in Rourkela.
Conclusion: The study's conclusions offer a thorough understanding of the negative impacts of air pollution, locals' perceptions of it, and the practical ramifications for local government when assessing more efficient approaches for reducing pollution.
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31. Garg A, Gupta NC, Kumar A. Spatio‑Temporal Variability and Health Risk Assessment of Benzo[a] pyrene in Different Population Through Ambient Air Exposure in Delhi, India. Exposure and Health . 2021; 14:111–127
32. Krejcie RV, Morgan DW. Determining Sampel Size for Research Activities, Educational and Psychological Measurement. NEA Research Bulletinvo l38. 1970.
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34. Pal S, Sharma A. How does the COVID‑19‑related restriction affect the spatiotemporal variability of ambient air quality in a tropical city? Environ Monit Assess. 2023; 195:847.
35. Yu CH, Chang SC, Liao EC. Is the excellent air quality a protective factor of health problems for Taitung County in eastern Taiwan? Perspectives from visual analytics. Heliyon. 2023; 9:e13866.
36. Park HA. An introduction to logistic regression: From basic concepts to interpretation with particular attention to nursing domain. Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing. 2013; 43:154–164.
37. Sperandei S. Understanding logistic regression analysis. Biochemia Medica. 2014; 24:12–18.
38. Harris JK. Primer on binary logistic regression. Family medicine and community health. 2021; 9:e001290.
39. Srimaneekarn N, Hayter A, Liu W, Tantipoj C. Binary Response Analysis Using Logistic Regression in Dentistry. International Journal of Dentistry. 2021; 1:5358602.
40. Pituch KA, Stevens JP. Applied Multivariate Statistics for the Social Sciences. 6th edn. New York and London, 2016.
41. Smith AB, Johnson CD, Davis EF, Thompson LM, Anderson KP, et al. Air pollution and respiratory health: A review of the current evidence. Journal of Environmental Health 2020; 25:123-135.
42. Naik B, Meher S, Sethy B. An empirical study of consumer buying behaviour towards eco-friendly FMCG products in Western Odisha. International Journal of Research in Management. 2023; 5:216–220.
43. Myers R, Brauer M, Dummer T, Atkar-khattra S, Yee J, Melosky B, et al. High-Ambient Air Pollution Exposure Among Never Smokers Versus Ever Smokers with Lung Cancer. Journal of Thoracic Oncology. 2021; 16:850-1858
44. Zhang Q, Chen R, Yin G, Du X, Meng X, Qiu Y, et al. Environmental Health — Article the Establishment of a New Air Health Index Integrating the Mortality Risks Due to Ambient Air Pollution and Non-Optimum Temperature. Engineering. 2021; 14:156-162.
45. Tainio M, Jovanovic Z, Nieuwenhuijsen MJ, Hu L, Nazelle A et al. Air pollution, physical activity and health: A mapping review of the evidence. Environment International 2021; 147:105954.
46. Yu Z, Wei F, Wu M, Lin H, Shui L, Jin M, et al. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety Association of long-term exposure to ambient air pollution with the incidence of sleep disorders: A cohort study in China. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety. 2021; 211:111956.
47. Pathak AK, Sharma M, Katiyar SK, Katiyar S, Nagar PK. Logistic regression analysis of environmental and other variables and incidences of tuberculosis in respiratory patients. Scientific Reports 2020 10:1–10.
48. Chen S, Bao Z, Ou Y, Chen K. The synergistic effects of air pollution and urban heat island on public health: A gender-oriented nationwide study of China. Urban Climate 2023; 51:101671.
49. Tan J, Chen N, Bai J, Yan P, Ma X, Ren M, et al. Ambient air pollution and the health-related quality of life of older adults: Evidence from Shandong China. Journal of Environmental Management 2023; 336:117619.
50. Noghanibehambari H, Bagheri H, Salari M, Tavassoli N, Javid R, Toranji M. Breathing in the Future: Prenatal Exposure to Air Pollution and Infants’ Health Outcomes in the US. SSRN Electronic Journal 2023; 225:198–205.
51. Lin LZ, Chen JH, Yu YJ, Dong GH. Ambient air pollution and infant health: a narrative review. E Bio Medicine 2023; 93:104609.
52. Kim JJ, Smorodinsky S, Lipsett M, Singer BC, Hodgson AT, Ostro B. Traffic-related air pollution near busy roads: The East Bay Children’s Respiratory Health Study. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine 2004; 170:520–526
53. Yang L, Yang Z, Zhao Z, Norbäck D, Cai YS, Zhang X. Exposure to greenness, air pollution and respiratory health among pre-school children in northern China. Atmospheric Environment, 2023; 298:119608
54. Qin YM, Sun CZ, Li D, Zhang H, Wang HY, Duan Y. Does urban air pollution have an impact on public health? Empirical evidence from 288 prefecture-level cities in China. Urban Climate 2023; 51:1-3.
2. Kumar R, Sharma SK, Thakur JS, Lakshmi PV, Sharma MK, Singh T. Association of air pollution and mortality in the Ludhiana city of India: a time-series study. Indian Journal of Public Health. 2010; 54:98–103.
3. Saha D, Soni K, Mohanan MN, Singh M. Remote Sensing Applications: Society and Environment Long-term trend of ventilation coefficient over Delhi and its potential impacts on air quality. Remote Sensing Applications: Society and Environment. 2019; 15:100234.
4. Huang C, Yang J, Clinton N, Yu L, Huang H, Dronova I, et al. Mapping the maximum extents of urban green spaces in 1039 cities using dense satellite images. Environ. Res. Lett. 2021; 16:64072.
5. Wang Z, Zhou Y, Zhang Y, Huang X, Duan X, Chen D, et al. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety Association of change in air quality with hospital admission for acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Guangdong, China: A province-wide ecological study. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety. 2021; 208:111590.
6. Vilcassim R, Thurston GD. Gaps and future directions in research on health effects of air pollution. Biomedicine. 2023; 93:104668.
7. Bozkurt Z, Üzmez, ÖÖ, Döğeroğlu T, Artun G, Gaga EO. Atmospheric concentrations of SO2, NO2, ozone and VOCs in Düzce, Turkey using passive air samplers: Sources, spatial and seasonal variations and health risk estimation. Atmospheric Pollution Research. 2018; 9:1146–1156.
8. Singh A, Bartington SE, Song C, Ghaffarpasand O, Kraftl M, Shi Z et al. Impacts of emergency health protection measures upon air quality, traffic and public health: evidence from Oxford, UK. Environmental Pollution. 2022; 293:118584.
9. Kaspersen KA, Antonsen S, Horsdal HT, Kjerulff B, Brandt J, Geels C, et al. Exposure to air pollution and risk of respiratory tract infections in the adult Danish population-a nationwide study. Clinical microbiology and infection: the official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. 2024; 30:122–129.
10. Brunekreef B, Holgate ST. Air pollution and health. Air Pollution and Health. 2002; 360:1233–1242.
11. Nandasena YLS, Wickremasinghe AR, Sathiakumar N. Air pollution and health in Sri Lanka: a review of epidemiologic studies. BMC Public Health. 2010; 10:300
12. Salvador P, Artíñano B, Viana M, Alastuey A, Querol X. Evaluation of the changes in the Madrid metropolitan area influencing air quality: Analysis of temporal trend of particulate matter. Atmospheric Environment. 2012; 57:175–185.
13. Zhu S, Sun J, Liu Y, Lu M, Liu X. Chemosphere The air quality index trend forecasting based on improved error correction model and data preprocessing for 17 port cities in China. Chemosphere. 2020; 252: 126474.
14. Nordeide I, Svanes C, Markevych I, Accordini S, Heile J, Forsberg B, et al. Lifelong exposure to air pollution and greenness in relation to asthma, rhinitis and lung function in adulthood. 2021; 146.
15. Kampa M, Castanas E. Human health effects of air pollution. Environmental Pollution. 2008; 151:362–367.
16. Tompkins LK, Pennington AF, Sircar KD, Mirabelli MC. Communication channels for receiving air quality alerts among adults in the United States. Preventive Medicine Reports. 2022; 25:101677.
17. George PE, Thakkar N, Yasobant S, Saxena D, Shah J. Impact of ambient air pollution and socio-environmental factors on the health of children younger than 5 years in India: a population-based analysis. The Lancet Regional Health-Southeast Asia. 2024; 20:100328.
18. Dandotiya B. Residents’ perception of air quality and health of Gwalior City: A Questionnaire Survey. 2018; 6:01-11.
19. Honda T, Pun VC, Manjourides J, Suh H. Anemia prevalence and hemoglobin levels are associated with long-term exposure to air pollution in an older population. Environment International. 2017; 101:125–132.
20. Han L, Zhao J, Gu Z. Assessing air quality changes in heavily polluted cities during the COVID-19 pandemic: A case study in Xi’ an, China. Sustainable Cities and Society. 2021; 70:102934.
21. Rivas I, Kumar P, Hagen-zanker A. Exposure to air pollutants during commuting in London: Are there inequalities among different socio-economic groups? Environment International. 2017; 101:143–157.
22. Gurjar BR, Jain A, Sharma A, Agarwal A, Gupta P, Nagpure AS, Lelieveld J. Human health risks in megacities due to air pollution. Atmospheric Environment. 2010; 44:4606–4613.
23. Pandey M, George MP, Gupta RK, Gusain D, Dwivedi A. Urban Climate Impact of COVID-9 induced lockdown and unlock down phases on the ambient air quality of Delhi, capital city of India. Urban Climate 2021; 39:100945.
24. Haque MS, Singh RB. Air pollution and human health in Kolkata, India: A case study. Climate. 2017 Oct 12;5(4):77.
25. Sahu C, Sahu SK. Ambient air quality and air pollution index of Sambalpur: a major town in Eastern India. International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology. 2019; 16:8217–8228.
26. Agrawal G, Mohan D, Rahman H. Ambient air pollution in selected small cities in India: Observed trends and future challenges. IATSS Research 202.1; 45:19–30.
27. Gupta U. Valuation of urban air pollution: A case study of Kanpur City in India. In Environmental and Resource Economics. 2008; 41:315–326.
28. Zhao P, Tuna G, Bolan L, Liu J, Yuan L, Luo Y. The effect of environmental regulations on air quality: A long-term trend analysis of SO2 and NO2 in the largest urban agglomeration in southwest . 2019; 10:2030–2039.
29. Landrigan PJ. Air pollution and health. The Lancet Public Health . 2017; 2:e4–e5.
30. Hoang AN, Pham TTK, Mai DTT, Nguyen T, Tran PTM. Health risks and perceptions of residents exposed to multiple sources of air pollutions: A cross-sectional study on landfill and stone mining in Danang city, Vietnam. Environmental Research. 2022; 212:113244.
31. Garg A, Gupta NC, Kumar A. Spatio‑Temporal Variability and Health Risk Assessment of Benzo[a] pyrene in Different Population Through Ambient Air Exposure in Delhi, India. Exposure and Health . 2021; 14:111–127
32. Krejcie RV, Morgan DW. Determining Sampel Size for Research Activities, Educational and Psychological Measurement. NEA Research Bulletinvo l38. 1970.
33. Ajay S, Micah B. Sampling Techniques & Determination of Sample Size in Applied Statistics Research: An Overview. II (11), 1–22. http://ijecm.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/21131.pdf
34. Pal S, Sharma A. How does the COVID‑19‑related restriction affect the spatiotemporal variability of ambient air quality in a tropical city? Environ Monit Assess. 2023; 195:847.
35. Yu CH, Chang SC, Liao EC. Is the excellent air quality a protective factor of health problems for Taitung County in eastern Taiwan? Perspectives from visual analytics. Heliyon. 2023; 9:e13866.
36. Park HA. An introduction to logistic regression: From basic concepts to interpretation with particular attention to nursing domain. Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing. 2013; 43:154–164.
37. Sperandei S. Understanding logistic regression analysis. Biochemia Medica. 2014; 24:12–18.
38. Harris JK. Primer on binary logistic regression. Family medicine and community health. 2021; 9:e001290.
39. Srimaneekarn N, Hayter A, Liu W, Tantipoj C. Binary Response Analysis Using Logistic Regression in Dentistry. International Journal of Dentistry. 2021; 1:5358602.
40. Pituch KA, Stevens JP. Applied Multivariate Statistics for the Social Sciences. 6th edn. New York and London, 2016.
41. Smith AB, Johnson CD, Davis EF, Thompson LM, Anderson KP, et al. Air pollution and respiratory health: A review of the current evidence. Journal of Environmental Health 2020; 25:123-135.
42. Naik B, Meher S, Sethy B. An empirical study of consumer buying behaviour towards eco-friendly FMCG products in Western Odisha. International Journal of Research in Management. 2023; 5:216–220.
43. Myers R, Brauer M, Dummer T, Atkar-khattra S, Yee J, Melosky B, et al. High-Ambient Air Pollution Exposure Among Never Smokers Versus Ever Smokers with Lung Cancer. Journal of Thoracic Oncology. 2021; 16:850-1858
44. Zhang Q, Chen R, Yin G, Du X, Meng X, Qiu Y, et al. Environmental Health — Article the Establishment of a New Air Health Index Integrating the Mortality Risks Due to Ambient Air Pollution and Non-Optimum Temperature. Engineering. 2021; 14:156-162.
45. Tainio M, Jovanovic Z, Nieuwenhuijsen MJ, Hu L, Nazelle A et al. Air pollution, physical activity and health: A mapping review of the evidence. Environment International 2021; 147:105954.
46. Yu Z, Wei F, Wu M, Lin H, Shui L, Jin M, et al. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety Association of long-term exposure to ambient air pollution with the incidence of sleep disorders: A cohort study in China. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety. 2021; 211:111956.
47. Pathak AK, Sharma M, Katiyar SK, Katiyar S, Nagar PK. Logistic regression analysis of environmental and other variables and incidences of tuberculosis in respiratory patients. Scientific Reports 2020 10:1–10.
48. Chen S, Bao Z, Ou Y, Chen K. The synergistic effects of air pollution and urban heat island on public health: A gender-oriented nationwide study of China. Urban Climate 2023; 51:101671.
49. Tan J, Chen N, Bai J, Yan P, Ma X, Ren M, et al. Ambient air pollution and the health-related quality of life of older adults: Evidence from Shandong China. Journal of Environmental Management 2023; 336:117619.
50. Noghanibehambari H, Bagheri H, Salari M, Tavassoli N, Javid R, Toranji M. Breathing in the Future: Prenatal Exposure to Air Pollution and Infants’ Health Outcomes in the US. SSRN Electronic Journal 2023; 225:198–205.
51. Lin LZ, Chen JH, Yu YJ, Dong GH. Ambient air pollution and infant health: a narrative review. E Bio Medicine 2023; 93:104609.
52. Kim JJ, Smorodinsky S, Lipsett M, Singer BC, Hodgson AT, Ostro B. Traffic-related air pollution near busy roads: The East Bay Children’s Respiratory Health Study. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine 2004; 170:520–526
53. Yang L, Yang Z, Zhao Z, Norbäck D, Cai YS, Zhang X. Exposure to greenness, air pollution and respiratory health among pre-school children in northern China. Atmospheric Environment, 2023; 298:119608
54. Qin YM, Sun CZ, Li D, Zhang H, Wang HY, Duan Y. Does urban air pollution have an impact on public health? Empirical evidence from 288 prefecture-level cities in China. Urban Climate 2023; 51:1-3.
| Files | ||
| Issue | Vol 10 No 3 (2025): Summer 2025 | |
| Section | Original Research | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.18502/japh.v10i3.19599 | |
| Keywords | ||
| Air pollution; Human health; Logistic regression; People's perceptions; Socioeconomic factors | ||
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How to Cite
1.
Pal S, Bag A, Panigraphi M, Sharma A. Breakdown the impact of air pollution along with socio-economic factors on public health using people perceptions: A case study of Rourkela, India. JAPH. 2025;10(3):373-394.
