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Early childhood lower respiratory illness and air pollution

Irva Hertz-Picciotto1, Rebecca James Baker, Poh-Sin Yap

  • 1Department of Public Health Sciences, University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA. ihp@ucdavis.edu

Environmental Health Perspectives
|October 17, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Preschool children exposed to air pollution, specifically polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5), showed increased rates of bronchitis. These findings highlight the vulnerability of young children to environmental respiratory triggers.

Area of Science:

  • Environmental Health
  • Pediatric Respiratory Medicine
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Limited research exists on air pollution's impact on preschooler respiratory health.
  • This study investigated bronchitis in children from high and low air pollution areas in the Czech Republic.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine lower respiratory illness rates in preschool children related to ambient particles and hydrocarbons.
  • To assess the association between specific air pollutants and childhood bronchitis.

Main Methods:

  • Daily/periodic air monitoring of PM2.5 and PAHs in two Czech districts.
  • Longitudinal follow-up of 1,133 children from birth to 3 or 4.5 years of age.
  • Multivariate analysis adjusting for environmental and demographic factors.

Main Results:

  • Bronchitis rates increased with higher concentrations of PAHs and PM2.5.
  • For children under 2 years, increased PAHs and PM2.5 were linked to higher bronchitis rates.
  • For children over 2 years, PAHs showed a stronger association with bronchitis than PM2.5.

Conclusions:

  • Ambient PAHs and fine particles are associated with increased bronchitis risk in early childhood.
  • The association between air pollutants and bronchitis was stronger with longer averaging periods and in older children (>2 years).
  • Preschool-aged children exhibit particular vulnerability to air pollution-related respiratory illnesses.
Abstract

Keywords:
PAHsPM2.5air pollutionbronchitischildren’s healthinfantparticulate matterpolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbonsrespiratory illnessvolatile organic compounds

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