Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Jan;88(1):45-55.
doi: 10.4046/trd.2024.0116. Epub 2024 Nov 14.

Air Pollution and Interstitial Lung Disease

Yong Suk Jo  1 , Jin Woo Song  2
Affiliations

Air Pollution and Interstitial Lung Disease

Yong Suk Jo et al. Tuberc Respir Dis (Seoul). 2025 Jan.

Abstract

This review article explores the multifaceted relationship between air pollution and interstitial lung diseases (ILDs), particularly focusing on idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, the most severe form of fibrotic ILD. Air pollutants are mainly composed of particulate matter, ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), and sulfur dioxide (SO2). They are recognized as risk factors for several respiratory diseases. However, their specific effects on ILDs and related mechanisms have not been thoroughly studied yet. Emerging evidence suggests that air pollutants may contribute to the development and acute exacerbation of ILDs. Longitudinal studies have indicated that air pollution can adversely affect the prognosis of disease by decreasing lung function and increasing mortality. Lots of in vitro, in vivo , and epidemiologic studies have proposed possible mechanisms linking ILDs to air pollution, including inflammation and oxidative stress induced by exposure to air pollutants, which may induce mitochondrial dysfunction, promote cellular senescence, and disrupt normal epithelial repair processes. Despite these findings, effective interventions to mitigate effects of air pollution on ILD are not well established yet. This review emphasizes the urgent need to address air pollution as a key environmental risk factor for ILDs and calls for further studies to clarify its effects and develop preventive and therapeutic strategies.

Keywords: Air Pollution; Interstitial Lung Disease; Prognosis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest

Jin Woo Song is an associate editor and Yong Suk Jo is an editorial board member of the journal, but they were not involved in the peer reviewer selection, evaluation, or decision process of this article. No other potential conflicts of interest relevant to this article were reported.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Schematic illustration of pathophysiological mechanism of air pollution on interstitial lung disease. ECM: extracellular matrix.
None
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Kang HK, Song JW. Progressive pulmonary fibrosis: where are we now? Tuberc Respir Dis (Seoul) 2024;87:123–33. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Raghu G, Collard HR, Egan JJ, Martinez FJ, Behr J, Brown KK, et al. An official ATS/ERS/JRS/ALAT statement: idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: evidence-based guidelines for diagnosis and management. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2011;183:788–824. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Sgalla G, Iovene B, Calvello M, Ori M, Varone F, Richeldi L. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: pathogenesis and management. Respir Res. 2018;19:32. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Sinharay R, Gong J, Barratt B, Ohman-Strickland P, Ernst S, Kelly FJ, et al. Respiratory and cardiovascular responses to walking down a traffic-polluted road compared with walking in a traffic-free area in participants aged 60 years and older with chronic lung or heart disease and age-matched healthy controls: a randomised, crossover study. Lancet. 2018;391:339–49. - PMC - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization . Geneva: WHO; 2021. WHO global air quality guidelines: particulate matter (PM25 and PM10), ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide. - PubMed