Interesting to read the bones.....

[Minimalist]

http://www.heritagedaily.com/2015/08/bo ... neum/14643

Many individuals located on the beach at Herculaneum who were buried under 30m of thin mud have been identified to have rib lesions (Capasso, 2000). These findings did not differ between the different sexes and were also identified in children, therefore independent of both sex and age. Capasso (2000) states that these lesions are undoubtedly related to pleural inflammation: the swelling of pleural cavity surrounding the lungs.This has been attributed to the high degree of particulate pollution produced by the burning of organic oils in terracotta lamps.

[kbs2244]

"the burning of organic oils in terracotta lamps."

That is a pretty common thing, in a pretty large area, for a pretty long time.
Has this been noted before?

[Minimalist]

I'm sure you're right. Pleurisy is merely a painful inflammation of the lining of the lungs and when you consider how doctors react to second hand smoke from cigarettes the idea of cooking/heating fires plus oil lamps and candles inside a home itself must be equally threatening.

You might find this interesting.

http://ourworldindata.org/data/populati ... xpectancy/

Life expectancy has increased rapidly since the onset of industrialization and modernization. In a pre-modern, poor world, life expectancy was around 30 years in every country. In the early 19th century, life expectancy started to increase in the early industrialized countries while it stayed low in the rest of the world. Just half a century ago, the health of the world was very unequal; there was good health in the rich countries and persistent bad health in those countries that remained poor.

In the case cited in the OP pleurisy is not a fatal disease in and of itself...although the inability to breathe without pain would seem to be a life-limiting situation. However, if the condition causes fluid to form in the pleura that could lead to infection and in a society with no antibiotics that would be quite serious.

Anyway, I agree with your basic point which is that environmental factors are/were a cause of health issues.