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BFF-19
HEALTH-CHILDREN-ENVIRONMENT-POLLUTION
Suffer the children: how air pollution hurts the youngest
TOKYO, March 14, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Air pollution can have devastating
health effects for people of all ages, but children are more vulnerable and
face specific risks that can last a lifetime, experts say.
Why are children more vulnerable?
Children breathe faster than adults and are smaller “so they end up getting
a higher dose of air pollution into their lungs relative to their body mass
than adults,” said Rima Habre, assistant professor of clinical preventative
health at the University of Southern California (USC).
Children are also closer to the ground, where some types of pollutants
tend to concentrate, and can be exposed to dirty air for longer stretches if
they play outside.
But air pollution isn’t only found outdoors. Some of the most serious air
pollution is in homes where heating and cooking fires burn fuel incompletely,
producing hazardous fumes.
These are disproportionately inhaled by young children and their mothers,
who spend more time inside and often close to the home’s stove.
Children’s organs are also still growing and pollution can slow the
development of the lungs, brain and other organs in ways that can have life-
long effects.
“Children have a long lifetime ahead of them during which even diseases
with a long latency period have time to manifest,” said Carrie Breton,
associate professor of preventive medicine at USC.
What are the effects on children?
The consequences of air pollution can be immediate but can also manifest
over the longer term. The most obvious immediate effects are respiratory.
Children exposed to air pollution are more susceptible to infections
including pneumonia and bronchitis, as well as asthma.
Research into how exactly air pollution causes these problems is still
ongoing, but the World Health Organisation says dirty air contributed to
respiratory tract infections that resulted in 543,000 deaths in children
under five in 2016.
And there are other less obvious effects including on “biological
pathways,” Breton said.
“There is some evidence to suggest air pollution may shift metabolic or
stress response pathways that could then put children at greater risk for
diabetes later in life or cardiovascular diseases,” she added.
The WHO also says there is “substantial evidence” that traffic-related air
pollution “is associated with increased risk of childhood leukaemia.”
Other research has linked air pollution to childhood obesity, persistent
ear infections and neurodevelopment issues that can lead to lower cognitive
test outcomes and may influence behavioural disorders.
What about in the womb?
Children are exposed to the health dangers of air pollution even while
they are still in the womb.
“Gases and ultrafine particulates can penetrate deep into the lungs of the
mothers and enter their bloodstream. These particles have been found in
placenta,” said professor Neil Thomas of the University of Birmingham’s
Institute of Applied Health Research.
Dirty air can lead to birth defects, low birth weight, pre-term birth and
even mortality. Complications during pregnancy also put the mother at risk.
“Low birth weight, reduced lung and brain development will have long term
impacts on the body,” said Thomas.
There is also recent initial evidence to suggest pre-natal exposure to air
pollution may alter newborn thyroid function.
It is not yet clear whether these health problems will then be passed down
the generations, but there is initial research suggesting that exposure to
tobacco smoke during pregnancy could increase the risk of asthma in children
and grandchildren.
“This may provide a theoretical framework for considering a similar effect
for air pollution in the future,” Breton said.
What can parents do?
The most effective action is to move away from polluted areas and while
some health effects will last a lifetime, research shows that children who
move to places with cleaner air see improved health, including better lung
function and lung growth rates.
But for the many families who can’t move away, experts say there are still
ways to minimise harm.
“When outdoors levels are high, try to stay indoors and refrain from
excessive physical activity, walk down secondary roads rather than the main
roads that are often more polluted,” said Thomas.
Indoors, families should avoid biomass burners, incense sticks and open
fires, he added. And in traffic, close off air intakes that can often suck in
fumes from surrounding car exhausts.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 1014 hrs