Child Lung Capacity Permanently Reduced by Pollution

A new study from the Medical Research Council and Asthma UK Centre in Allergic Mechanisms of Asthma has found that air pollution could reduce the lung capacity of young children on a permanent basis. The study, which was led by Professor Chris Griffiths, concluded that by the age of eight or nine years old, a child’s lung capacity could be reduced by as much as 10%.

As well as suffering irreparable restrictions on their inhalation capabilities, the study also found that the youngsters exposed to poor air quality were at a higher risk of contracting respiratory complications, such as bronchitis and asthma.

Conclusive Results

The six-year study analysed 2,400 children across 25 different schools in east London. As well as measuring the volume of air each child was capable of inhaling, the researchers also checked their lungs for inflammation and their urine for traces of heavy metal. The latter is a tell-tale sign of poor air, caused primarily by urban traffic.

It has long been suspected that poor air quality leads to lung cancer and heart failure, as well as increasing the risk of other serious ailments such as strokes, brain damage and dementia. Now, scientists have hard evidence that pollutants have adverse and irreversible effects on the very young, too. The results demonstrated that children living in areas with an abundance of nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter (PM2.5) in the air had not developed as large lungs as those in other regions.

“The data shows that traffic pollution stops children’s lungs growing properly,” explained Ian Mudway, a respiratory toxicologist at King’s College London. “The evidence suggests that by eight to nine years old, children from the most polluted areas have 5% - 10% less lung capacity and they may never get that back.”

Bad News for LEZ

The original intention of the study was to investigate how successful London’s efforts to curb emissions and reduce air pollution in the capital have been. The Low Emissions Zone (LEZ) scheme was introduced in 2008 in an effort to meet tough targets of reducing emissions by 80% by 2050. Unfortunately, the information reveals that LEZ has not been successful in its aims.

“It is very disappointing that the LEZ, which was specifically designed as a major public health intervention, has so far brought about no change,” Professor Griffiths told the media. “This raises questions over the government’s current consultation on air quality, which is based around the idea of creating similar low emission zones in up to 30 other polluted urban areas. There appears to be no evidence that these low emission zones can reduce pollution or improve health.”

Clearly, much work still needs to be done to clean up polluted areas, especially in the UK capital. Key to ensuring this happens is a flexible approach, incorporating many different solutions working in tandem. In addition to phasing out diesel cars, incentives to use public transport, cycle or walk can also be pursued, among other avenues.