A study highlights a direct link between early exposure to air pollution and lung problems in adulthood, such as symptoms of bronchitis.
- According to a study of some 1,300 volunteers, there is a direct link between early exposure to air pollution and lung problems in adulthood.
- The presence of bronchitis symptoms in participants was associated with exposure, between birth and age 17, to two types of air pollutants.
- “Children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of air pollution: their respiratory and immune systems are still developing and, compared to adults, they breathe more air relative to their body mass,” the researchers warn.
Does breathing polluted air at age 10 have a direct impact on lung health at age 50? Existing studies have shown that exposure to air pollution during childhood is consistently associated with lung problems in children, which are themselves consistently linked to lung problems in adulthood.
A new study, published in theAmerican Journal of Respiratory and Clinical Care Medicinelinks the two ages and highlights a direct association between early exposure to air pollution and symptoms of bronchitis later in life.
Bronchitis symptoms linked to childhood exposure to two pollutants
To reach this conclusion, researchers from the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California (USC), in the United States, relied on a study conducted on more than 1,300 participants over decades, from school-entry age to adulthood (32 years on average at the end of the follow-up). The volunteers had to report their recent episodes of bronchitis, chronic cough, but also congestion or sputum not associated with a cold. “A quarter of them had shown symptoms of bronchitis in the previous 12 months”we can read in a communicatedAt the same time, the researchers measured the air quality in the environments in which the participants grew up.
The team of scientists found that the presence of these bronchitis symptoms was associated with exposure, between birth and age 17, to two types of pollutants. The first is tiny particles in the air such as dust, pollen, ash from wildfires, industrial emissions and products from vehicle exhaust. The second, nitrogen dioxide, known to impair lung function, is a byproduct of combustion in cars, airplanes, boats and power plants.
Children’s health highly vulnerable to air pollution
“This study highlights the importance of reducing exposure to air pollution, particularly during the critical period of childhood,” say the authors. And for good reason, “Children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of air pollution: their respiratory and immune systems are still developing and, compared to adults, they breathe more air relative to their body mass.”
Conclusion of the scientists, “Reducing air pollution would have benefits not only for current asthma in children, but also for their respiratory health as they grow into adulthood.”
