The ever-increasing vehicular pollution in the Capital is taking a toll on the respiratory functions of the residents with central Delhi being the worst affected.

A study published in the Indian Journal of Medical Specialties says the pulmonary functions – lung’s ability to breathe in and distribute oxygen in the body – of residents is going down owing to vehicular pollution.

The study carried out by the department of physiology of the University College of Medical Sciences (UCMS) and Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital assessed the effect of pollution on pulmonary functions in the residents of five areas in Delhi.

The air pollution data was collected from the Central Pollution Control Board’s five ambient air quality monitoring stations in the city – Ashok Vihar (North), Siri Fort (South), Janakpuri (West), Shahadara (East) and ITO (Central).

“Epidemiological studies have found a significant positive correlation between environmental pollution, decreased pulmonary functions and respiratory morbidity. Increasing number of cars and factories in the metropolitan area has aggravated the level of pollution,” Farah Khaliq , associate professor at UCMS, said.

“Pollutants such as noxious gases and lead are present in the air in excess than recommended levels. Continuous exposure to these is harmful for the vital systems of the body and more to the respiratory system,” she added.

The fact that the subjects chosen for the study were non-smokers makes the findings more significant.

“The medical report results were correlated with the ambient air quality data taken from the Central Pollution Control Board. the data showed the level of suspended particulate matter and respirable suspended particulate matter was above the acceptable standards in all five areas,” Khaliq said.

“The values were found to be maximum in central Delhi in ITO,” she said. Particulate air pollution is responsible for occurrence and severity of respiratory diseases.

The research study paper was coauthored by Abhinav Goyal of the UCMS and GTB hospital.

A random sample of 250 students was drawn from five different colleges located in all the chosen areas to cover all areas in the national capital.

The effects of air pollution on respiratory health, both from acute and long term exposure, contribute to risk of respiratory symptoms, decreased lung function, increased daily admission to hospital with cardiorespiratory diseases, as well as increasing mortality in some population groups.