Asthma in toddlers linked to in-utero exposure to air pollution, study finds
Related: Prenatal Ambient Ultrafine Particle Exposure and Childhood Asthma in the Northeastern United States (American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine)
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Source: The Guardian
Asthma in toddlers linked to in-utero exposure to air pollution, study finds
Developing foetuses ‘exquisitely sensitive’ to harm from tiny particles, scientists say
Damian Carrington Environment editor
@dpcarrington
Fri 21 May 2021 13.00 BST
Infants whose mothers were exposed to higher levels of tiny air pollution particles during pregnancy are much more likely to develop asthma, according to research.
The study analysed the impact of ultra-fine particles (UFPs), which are not regulated by governments. These are thought to be even more toxic than the larger particles that are routinely monitored and have also been linked to asthma.
Sources of UFPs include vehicles and wood burners, and tens of thousands of particles can be found in each sugar cube-sized volume of city air. They are thought to pass through the expectant mother’s lungs and into her bloodstream, causing damaging inflammation. They are also likely to cross the placenta into the foetus’s circulation.
UFPs have been linked to other impacts including brain cancer and researchers said that demonstrating these health impacts should spur better measurement and action from policymakers to reduce dirty air.
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The new research, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, followed almost 400 mothers and their children through pregnancy and afterwards in Boston, US.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/may/21/asthma-in-toddlers-linked-to-in-utero-exposure-to-air-pollution-ufps-study-finds