Effects of air pollution in children

A growing body of evidence has demonstrated that there are serious health consequences to community air pollution and that these consequences are not spread equally among the population. As an example of this differential susceptibility, recent studies have indicated that people with type 2 diabetes are at higher risk for cardiovascular effects of airborne particles. This article cannot be a comprehensive review of the literature, because recent reviews of airborne particles and ozone alone have hundreds of pages summarizing the literature. Rather, I cover the major health effects in children that have been linked to air pollution, cite some key papers, and discuss the strength of the evidence.

What are the health effects of air pollution on children? Share Publicly Share Privately Share this article In-depth guide to the effects of air pollution on the health of children and on your own health, along with detailed advice on how to protect them and campaign for clean air in your local area.

A headline such as "London breaches annual air pollution limit for in just five days" would have given me passing concern a few years ago. But now that I actually live in London, suddenly this information becomes all the more terrifying.

We care about and discuss things like climate change and environmental problems, but the issues seem so large and out of our own control, that they end up as background noise.

How do I unblock the drain in my shower? Having recently become a parent, I realised I knew nothing about the health effects of air pollution.

Active parents and the fight against air pollution There are already countless hurdles to overcome in the outside world when you have a child. For an active parent — the cyclists, walkers, runners among us - these are merely obstacles to triumph over. All of these pleasures should be low risk.

So this is an investigation as well as a guide. As well as what Effects of air pollution in children UK government is doing to help, what we ourselves can do about it and how we can help the campaign for clean air. What are the types of air pollution?

The most dangerous tiny particles of air pollution can penetrate deep into our lungs, and can even get into the bloodstream. Particulates worsen heart and lung disease. Fine particle air pollution is responsible for 29, early deaths a year in the UK.

A toxic gas that you might sometimes notice as an orange haze over a city. High levels of NO2 can cause a flare-up of asthma or symptoms such as coughing and difficulty breathing.

Ground level ozone O3. Ground level or "bad" ozone is created by chemical reactions between oxides of nitrogen NOx and volatile organic compounds VOC in the presence of sunlight. It can irritate the eyes, nose and throat.

How does air pollution affect your health?

Youngsters - your section is directly below this one, so please skip ahead. It might do you some good. In the UK air pollution comes from a variety of sources but the government says pollution from road traffic is now the biggest problem, and diesels the worst of all.

The effects of air pollution on children.

This is the same class as tobacco. Asthma Two thirds of people with asthma say that poor air quality makes their asthma worse. This puts them at higher risk of an asthma attack, according to Asthma UK.

They also state that being exposed long-term to high concentrations of air pollution may cause adult-onset asthma. Stroke and heart failure Short-term exposure to air pollution can increase the risk of hospitalisation or death from stroke in the following week.

This is according to research published by the British Medical Journal. Heart disease Air pollution is linked to the development of cardiovascular diseases, including furring of the arteries. It can also exacerbate conditions for those already living with heart disease.

Diabetes The development of Type 2 diabetes is not only due to lifestyle or genetic factors, but also traffic-related air pollution, according to research by the American Diabetes Association.

The Harmful Effects Of Air Pollution On Children | Being The Parent

My mind reels at the thought of the damage being done to infants and children who are still developing. Asthma According to Asthma UK: Children and young adults with asthma are more at risk from the effects of pollution because they have faster breathing rates and their lungs are still developing.

Children living in areas with high pollution are more likely to have reduced lung function as adults. Long-term exposure to high concentrations of air pollution may cause asthma in children. Dr Ian Mudway, a leading expert on the air pollution impacts on child health, suggests this reduced lung function may never be reversed.

Brain development Air pollution exposure in pregnant women was found to harm brain development and contribute to behavioural and cognitive problems later in childhood.

A recent study of children aged 8 to 15 who were exposed to higher levels of air pollution were also found to have a lower insulin sensitivity.Effects of air pollution on children's pulmonary function in urban and suburban areas of Wuhan, People's Republic of China.

Arch Environ Health. Nov-Dec; 48 (6)– Pönkä A. Absenteeism and respiratory disease among children and adults in Helsinki in . The Southern California Children's Health study looked at the long-term effects of air pollution on teenagers.

Tracking 1, children who were between ages 10 and 18 from to , researchers found that those who grew up in more polluted areas face increased risk of reduced lung growth, which may never recover to the full capacity.

Air pollution hotspots are areas where air pollution emissions expose individuals to increased negative health effects. They are particularly common in highly populated, urban areas, where there may be a combination of stationary sources (e.g.

industrial facilities) and mobile sources (e.g. cars and trucks) of pollution. Air pollution is a worldwide problem, which has raised manifold in the past few decades. Air pollution leads to devastating effects. Since the air is directly related to life on earth, people are becoming victims of various types of diseases by breathing in foul air.

Reduced exposure to air pollution seems to improve children’s health.

Air pollution hotspots are areas where air pollution emissions expose individuals to increased negative health effects. They are particularly common in highly populated, urban areas, where there may be a combination of stationary sources (e.g. industrial facilities) and mobile sources (e.g. cars and trucks) of pollution. Why Are Children At A Greater Risk Than Adults From Air Pollution? Children are more susceptible to pollution than adults. This is because of three reasons: Children breathe in more air per kilogram of their body weight than adults. This means that they are more exposed to air pollutants than us adults; Children still have lungs that are under-developed. Reduced exposure to air pollution seems to improve children’s health. As of yet, however, relatively few studies have looked at the effects of reduced air pollution.

As of yet, however, relatively few studies have looked at the effects of reduced air pollution. Abstract. Children’s exposure to air pollution is a special concern because their immune system and lungs are not fully developed when exposure begins, raising the possibility of different responses than seen in adults.