The human body can go without food for a few weeks and it can go without water for a few days – but it can only go without air for a matter of seconds. Breathing is arguably the most crucial single function that the human body does, so it’s mysterious why lung health isn’t valued as high as it should be. Quite worryingly, lung diseases are known to account for more than 16 percent of deaths among women worldwide.
Exposure to tobacco smoke and indoor air pollution, from using solid fuels for cooking and heating, are the two of the leading risk factors that have a huge impact on women’s lung health far more than that of men. And this fact is especially true of low-income countries. These pollutants kill more than 1.5m women every year.
Asthma affects an estimated 235 million people worldwide and although it is only responsible for around 0.5 percent of deaths among women, it is still a debilitating disease that causes real problems for wellness and wellbeing. In poorer countries this is especially true due to the limited amount of resources made available to treat diseases.
There are a number of reasons that you could develop asthma including risk factors such as genetic predisposition, lowered immunity levels, cold air, physical exercise and exposure to tobacco smoke. It’s also known that pet fur, mould spores, dust mites, pollen, some medications and chemical irritants can be triggers that bring on symptoms or attacks.
Biomass and solid fuels are a prominent source of indoor air pollution, but their health effects are not very well understood in developing countries. It is thought that they contribute to the growing numbers of women in poorer countries developing asthma.
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