New Delhi:
Bryan Johnson, a US tech millionaire known for his anti-ageing research, has slammed India’s poor air quality again – days after he made headlines for walking out of a podcast with Zerodha CEO Nikhil Kamath citing pollution. In a lengthy post on X, Mr Johnson cited a study showing how poor air pollution causes liver inflammation, fibrosis, blood fat imbalance, and liver protein markers associated with alcoholism, as well as gene dysregulation linked to cancer.
“Indians are justifiably outraged by the poor air quality they are exposed to daily. It creates serious negative health effects. There’s no such thing as a safe level of PM2.5,” he said.
The study, shared by Mr Johnson, involved mice being exposed to 12 weeks of low levels of traffic PM2.5 pollutants. It collected the particulate matter PM2.5 from the side of busy roads and introduced the pollutants in a saline solution into the mice noses.
After the 12 weeks, the animals developed liver inflammation, fibrosis, blood fat imbalance, and exhibited liver protein markers associated with alcoholism and gene dysregulation related to cancer.
“Air pollution is multifaceted, with small particulate matter PM2.5 that can reach deep into the lungs and cross to circulation being the most notorious “everyday” air pollutant linked to traffic and combustion engines. The study is a stark reminder that there is no safe-level exposure to air pollution, emphasizing the need to treat this as a public health priority – especially in heavily polluted cities and countries,” Mr Johnson wrote.
The tech millionaire also shared ways to reduce exposure to poor air quality such as: Be aware of PM2.5 levels, wearing an N95 mask, and activating air re-circulation in the car while travelling through busy and polluted roads, among others.
Indians are justifiably outraged by the poor air quality they are exposed to daily. It creates serious negative health effects.
Below is a study showing how air pollution causes liver inflammation, fibrosis, blood fat imbalance, and liver protein markers associated with… pic.twitter.com/SODON2KOh8
— Bryan Johnson /dd (@bryan_johnson) February 4, 2025
During his visit to India in December last year, walked out of Nikhil Kamath‘s ‘WTF’ podcast midway, citing poor air quality – even though they had an air purifier in the room and he wore an N95 mask.
The interview was recorded in a five-star hotel room in Mumbai’s Bandra. At that time, the AQI was around 120.
Praising Nikhil Kamath as a “gracious host”, Mr Johnson explained the room was circulating outside air, rendering his air purifier ineffective. He also criticised how deeply normalised air pollution has become in India.
“This was my third day in India and the air pollution had made my skin break out in rash and my eyes and throat burn. Air pollution has been so normalized in India that no one even notices anymore despite the science of its negative effects being well known. People would be outside running. Babies and small children are exposed from birth. No one wore a mask which can significantly decrease exposure. It was so confusing,” he wrote in a post X.