You may suffer from lung disease in your youth

Do you know that exposure to air pollution in childhood can have a profound effect on your lungs? According to a recent research, children exposed to air pollution in childhood are at a higher risk of lung diseases in adulthood. Along with this, researchers have also stressed the need to reduce pollution.

Scientists at the University of Southern California (USC) have found that exposure to air pollution in childhood leads to bronchitis symptoms in adulthood, such as chronic cough, congestion or phlegm production. These illnesses have no relationship to catching a cold. The study, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Clinical Care Medicine, examined the health of 1,308 children. Their average age at the time of adult assessment was 32 years. The results of the research showed that one-quarter of the participants experienced bronchitis symptoms in the past 12 months.

Effects on the respiratory system

Erica Garcia, assistant professor of population and public health sciences at the Keck School of Medicine, said the findings suggest that exposure to air pollution in childhood has more subtle effects on our respiratory system, which also affect us into adulthood. The presence of bronchitis symptoms was associated with exposure to two types of pollutants between birth and age 17.

How was the study conducted?

One group includes fine particles in the air such as dust, pollen, ash from wildfires, industrial emissions and smoke from vehicles. The other is nitrogen dioxide, a byproduct of combustion in automobiles, aircraft, boats and power plants, which is known to harm the ability of the lungs to function.

the study

The study focused on children, who are particularly vulnerable to the effects of air pollution. Their respiratory and immune systems are still developing and they breathe in more air relative to their body weight than adults. The team also found that exposure to nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter in childhood had a worse effect on children. Also, the study's effect on bronchitis symptoms in adults was greater in those who were diagnosed with asthma in childhood.