Research
Mixed
Particulate matter air pollution is the leading contributor to global disease burden, accounting for 8.0% of total DALYs in 2021.
Air pollution is the leading risk factor for global disease burden. Reducing exposure is crucial for long-term health.
StrongSupportsVERY_HIGH confidence
Among the specific risk factors analysed for this study, particulate matter air pollution was the leading contributor to the global disease burden in 2021, contributing 8·0% (95% UI 6·7–9·4) of total DALYs
Why this rating
Based on comprehensive global data and systematic analysis.
Source
Global burden and strength of evidence for 88 risk factors in 204 countries and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021
Michael Bräuer et al. · The Lancet · 2024
DOI 10.1016/s0140-6736(24)00933-4
Meta-analysis · 54561 studiesCited 2,427×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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