Pollution has the potential to affect every aspect of your body. Here's how it works:

Pollution not only harms the environment, but it also harms our bodies.

According to a study of scientific research published in the medical journal Chest, air pollution can impair "most other organs of the body" in addition to the well-known victim, our lungs.

"I wouldn't be surprised if practically every organ was impacted," said project leader Prof. Dean Schraufnagel of the University of Illinois in Chicago to the Guardian. If something is absent from the review from earlier this year, it is most likely due to a lack of research."

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 90% of the world's population breathes polluted air, which contains a mixture of gases and particles such as soot and smoke. World warming is caused by greenhouse gases, but the particles that make up those molecules have an impact on global health.

The WHO's director general, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has defined toxic air as a silent public health epidemic, with seven million deaths every year - more than the number of people who die from smoking worldwide.

What's going on inside your body?

Ultra-fine particles — particulate matter smaller than 10 micrometres – can be absorbed into your bloodstream when you breathe filthy air into your lungs.

These particles are subsequently transferred to all other critical organs throughout the body.

According to Prof. Schraufnagel, the fundamental reason air pollution harms our health is the inflammation caused by our immune system's reaction to the particles.

"Immune cells mistake a [pollution particle] for a bacteria and go after it, releasing enzymes and acids in an attempt to kill it." Inflammatory proteins spread throughout the body, harming the brain, kidneys, pancreas, and other organs. The body has evolved to fight itself against illnesses, not pollution, in evolutionary terms."

The figure above, from the Chest review, details the diseases linked to air pollution exposure. Here are the six bodily parts that are most affected.

Brain

Air pollution has been found in studies to lower children's cognitive capacities while also raising the risk of dementia and stroke in the elderly.

Heart

The immune system's reaction to the particles might restrict your heart's arteries and weaken your muscles, making you more vulnerable to heart attacks.

Bones

A study of nine million Medicare recipients in the United States found that osteoporosis-related bone fractures were more likely in areas with higher levels of ultra-fine pollution particles.

Skin

The more we are exposed to traffic pollution, the more damage it does to our sensitive skin - the body's biggest organ – from wrinkles to acne and eczema in youngsters.

Lungs

The effects of air pollution on the respiratory tract (nose, throat, and lungs) have received the greatest attention. Breathing problems, asthma, chronic laryngitis, and lung cancer are all caused by it.

Eyes

Conjunctivitis has been linked to ozone (O3) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) exposure, while dry, itchy, and weepy eyes are also frequent reactions to visible pollution haze, especially for persons who wear contact lenses.