The more pollutants in the air, the worse the air quality. The worse the air quality, the harder it is to breathe. And for people with asthma or COPD, research shows that air pollution can make symptoms worse and trigger a flare-up.1,2
1 Li, J., Sun, S., Tang, R., Qiu, H., Huang, Q., Mason, T. G., & Tian, L. (2015). Major air pollutants and risk of COPD exacerbations: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, 11, 3079-3091. https://doi.org/10.2147/COPD.S122282
2 Tiotiu, A. I., Novakova, P., Nedeva, D., Chong-Neto, H. J., Novakova, S., Steiropoulos, P., & Kowal, K. (2020). Impact of Air Pollution on Asthma Outcomes. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(17). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17176212