The Air Sacs Of The Body Are Weak

The air sacs, lungs as we call them, are suffering the most these days. The Covid-19 pandemic took away several lives because of the collapse of the entire respiratory system. People have suffered for breath and life in recent times more than ever. Studies have found that Americans have a weaker lung capacity than people around the globe.

The Air Sacs Of The Body Are Weak

The situation is worse when we consider the Americans who are poor and have difficulties arranging the basic amenities of life. These studies have been conducted over the years on more than two hundred thousand Americans, and the results have proved that the lung life in American adults, as well as children, are in grave danger.

Many people do not understand the gravity of the situation and tend to ignore health-related issues. It is also seen that wealthier Americans have relatively good lung health than poorer Americans. There always comes an issue regarding the high prices of healthcare facilities all across the United States of America.

Poor people are not insured and are devoid of basic healthcare facilities. They do not have the luxury of regular health visits to doctors and the reason behind it is that healthcare is expensive. This is resulting in the widening of the already existing gap between the rich and the poor.  

One of the major causes of poor lung health conditions among the financially weaker section is because of the socioeconomic inequalities that still exist in society. The United States of America has prospered over the years, but the health infrastructure needs more strengthening, says one of the experts and leading authors of the study Dr. Gaffney. He further explained that the lung capacity was evaluated on certain criteria like shortness of breath, any past pulmonary problems or asthma. So, this gave a basis for the people conducting the study to have a basis. The lung volumes were also measured, which means how much air is retained in the lungs after the different phases of breathing. 

For further knowledge, he explained to us that there is a certain amount of air that remains in the lungs after forced expiration, which is called the residual volume.

Dr. Gaffney also emphasised that the differences among the rich and the poor have existed for a long time now but the gap has only increased in the last six decades. Dr. Gaffney is an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and he was part of the expert panel of the study that was conducted. The participants of the study ranged from kids of age six years to Adults and older generations not ageing more than 75 years. Yes, the economic difference is one of the leading causes of poor health conditions, but it is not the only reason.

One of the major reasons for poor lung health conditions is because a lot of people have started smoking. The smoking rates have plummeted from a high of 63% during the 1970s to a mere 34% in 2018. But recent studies conducted during Covid-19 show that the rate of people going back to smoking has increased, which might be one of the worst effects of Covid-19. Other studies also show some of the same trends where more than 48% of Americans witness shortness of breath when they over-exert themselves. Earlier, this was only true for 45% of Americans. This shows the deterioration of the Lung Health of an average American Adult. The trends are not good and in serious cases, availability of emergency medical services is easily available to the wealthy and not to the poor.