Childhood Asthma Can Be Caused by Air Pollution

I saw an air pollution indicator in my town, it was located just in front of the biggest shopping center in town. I was always wondering, “OK, we have the indicator, but what does it mean?” Is it threatening our health or the environment? The answer could be yes for both. It depends on the type of the pollution. If it’s carbon dioxide, yes, it will make the rate of global warming going faster, but if it’s PM10 (particulate matter with size less than 10µ), then it is your respiratory system that could be in danger. One of the latest research have shown that early exposure to air pollution is associated with Childhood Asthma.

According to World Health Organization (WHO), asthma is a major cause for emergency room visits, hospitalizations and school absences. A large population based study has shown an association between higher exposure to air pollution in utero and during the first year of life and a higher risk of asthma in preschool-aged children. The result is quite shocking, since before I knew that asthma is caused by genetic factors. Besides that, another risk factors for developing asthma are diet and exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke and allergens.

The researchers compared the administrative and health care data for nearly 3,500 children born in southwest British Columbia, Canada, in 1999 and 2000 who were diagnosed with asthma by age 4 years and estimated the air pollutant exposures. Nine pollutant exposures were evaluated: carbon monoxide, nitric oxide, particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), ozone, sulfur dioxide, black carbon and wood smoke.

The research concluded that the highest risk of asthma was associated with exposure to the traffic-related pollutants carbon monoxide, nitric oxide, nitrogen oxide and black carbon. It makes me realize that the traffic pollution really has detrimental effect to our health, especially to our babies. They are very vulnerable to the air pollution, so it’s very important to live where you have less air pollution. A continuous exposure in the first year of a baby is very dangerous.

The association between air pollution and asthma were generally greater in girls than in boys, although asthma was significantly more common in boys. The research didn’t explain why, and I guess it can’t answer that question. However, it gives us a clear information that girls are more vulnerable than boys in this case.

This research has given us another proof that environment and health are really connected. We emit pollution to the air, but in the end, it’s us who should take the consequence.