Even Low Levels of Air Pollution Appear to Affect a Child’s Lungs

In "Lifetime Exposure to Ambient Air Pollution and Lung Function in Children," researchers report that children exposed to higher levels of air pollution, including fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and soot (black carbon), had worse lung function than those living in less polluted areas. By age eight, the lung function of children living within 100 meters of a major roadway was on average 6 percent lower than that of children living 400 meters or more away.

Researchers found:

• Children living the closest to major highways had the greatest reductions in their lung function.
• Recent air pollution exposures most negatively impacted lung function measures.
• Children who experienced greater improvements in air quality after the first year of life (either due to a move or changes in local pollution around the home) had better lung function compared to those whose air quality did not improve as much.

"These important findings are from a novel study combining modern modeling of exposures to air pollution with robust measurements of lung function, conducted in a community with pollutant levels now under EPA standards," wrote Cora S. Sack, MD, and Joel D. Kaufman, MD, MPH, of the University of Washington, in an accompanying editorial. "This adds to the urgency for more work to understand the impacts of these low-level exposures on human health."

Read More @ Science Daily