Growth in Children’s Lung Function is Slowed by Air Pollution
Researchers with the Children’s Health Study led by the University of Southern California have monitored levels of major air pollutants in a dozen southern California communities since 1993, while tracking the respiratory health of more than 3,000 school age children.
The twelve communities, which fell along a gradient of air pollution levels, were all within a 200-mile radius of Los Angeles. The California towns studied were Alpine, Atascadero, Lake Arrowhead, Lake Elsinore, Lancaster, Lompoc, Long Beach, Mira Loma, Riverside, San Dimas, Santa Maria, and Upland.
In fourth-graders, significant deficits in growth of lung function were associated with various measures of fine particles (PM10, PM2.5, and PM10-2.5), nitrogen dioxide, and inorganic acid vapor, but not with ozone. The deficits were larger for children that spent more time outdoors.
“This is the best evidence yet of a chronic effect of air pollution in children,” said Dr. John Peters, University of Southern California professor of preventative medicine and one of the study authors.
The study concluded that “the results suggest that exposure to air pollution may lead to a reduction in maximal attained lung function, which occurs early in adult life, and ultimately to increased risk of chronic respiratory illness in adulthood.”
Gauderman, J.W., McConnell, R., Gilliland, F., London, S., Thomas, D., Avol, E., Vora, H., Berhane, K., Rappaport, E.B., Lurmann, F., Margolis, H.G., and Peters, J. Association between Air Pollution and Lung Function Growth in Southern California Children. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Vol. 162. pp 1383-1390, 2000.
The American Thoracic Society [www.ajrccm.atsjournals.org/] publishes the full article online.
