Environmental inequality: Air pollution and asthma in children

Abstract

Dirty air is now recognized as the single biggest environmental threat to human health. 1 The air we breathe is becoming increasingly polluted and its impact on health is appraised to be as great as other major global health risks such as unhealthy diet, sedentarism, or tobacco. Nonetheless, air pollution is hard to escape. An emerging body of evidence emphasizes the associations between poorquality environments and socioeconomic conditions at both local and regional scales. 2 Whether you benefit from high-quality urban

Environmental influences on childhood asthma: Climate change

“…8 Several reports showed the association of increased ambient levels of air pollutants with reduced lung function, 12,18 worsening asthma symptoms [19][20][21][22][23] and asthma-related emergency department visits or hospitalizations in children, [24][25][26][27][28][29] as well as asthma development. [30][31][32][33][34] The relationship between air pollution exposure and children's lung function was shown with stronger evidence for PM 2.5 and NO 2 . 12,35 The strongest impact of long-term exposures on lung function is demonstrated on FEV1, while FVC seems to be less affected, suggesting that air pollutants can modulate especially the airflow obstruction rather than children's overall lung size.…”

“…It is foreseeable that in the near future global warming will lead to increasingly prolonged episodes of peak ozone concentration in urban areas and that atmospheric concentrations of pollutants and levels of atmospheric particulate matter (PM) will increase in industrialized and more prone to vehicle traffic environments 8 . Several reports showed the association of increased ambient levels of air pollutants with reduced lung function, 12,18 worsening asthma symptoms 19–23 and asthma‐related emergency department visits or hospitalizations in children, 24–29 as well as asthma development 30–34 …”

“…The causative role of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), benzene and total volatile organic pollutants (TVOCs) exposures was analysed in the 27 studies included in this meta‐analysis, demonstrating that TRAP increases the risk of asthma among children with the following odd ratios and confidence intervals: meta‐OR = 1.07, 95% CI: 1.00–1.13 for PM2.5, meta‐OR = 1.11, 95% 23 CI: 1.06–1.17 for NO 2 , meta‐OR: 1.21, 95% CI: 1.13–1.29 for Benzene and meta‐OR: 1.06, 95% CI: 24 1.03–1.10 for TVOC. The most recent and extensive review on this topic, performed by Moreira and coll., 34 focussed on the relationship between childhood asthma and air pollution—specifically industrial pollutants, traffic‐related, due to disinfection products and tobacco smoke—underlying the role of environmental inequality at the basis of an unequal distribution of the risks and benefits of different living settings and conditions.…”

Socioeconomic determinants of asthma health

“…Urban areas accounted for 2/3 of the cases of pediatric asthma and, though improved from 19.8% in 2000, 16% of cases were attributable to NO 2 . Historical inequity has led Black and low-income families to reside in areas with higher PM 2.5 concentrations [30], which are associated with increased asthma symptoms, urgent and emergency room visits [23,28,31]. Komisarow and Pakhtigian [32] found that the closure of three coal-fired powerplants in the Chicago area led to a 12-18% reduction in ED visits for asthma exacerbations.…”

Environment and the development of severe asthma in inner city population

“…Higher VOC concentrations were associated with increased asthma exacerbations [8]. Multiple mechanisms have been proposed, including disruption of the integrity and immunoregulatory function of the bronchial epithelium, induction of allergen sensitization, and promotion of airway reactivity in individuals with preexisting allergens sensitivities [10].…”