Babies who are exposed to ambient air traffic pollution are likely to have poorer lung function up to the age of eight, especially those who are sensitized to common allergens, researchers from the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, reported in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

Researchers have known for many years that air pollution harms health and kills. In 2006, the World Health Organization estimated that globally, two million people died prematurely every year because of air pollution.

Researcher Göran Pershagen, MD, PhD, professor at the Karolinska Institutet, Institute of Environmental Medicine, said: “Earlier studies have shown that children are highly susceptible to the adverse effects of air pollution and suggest that exposure early in life may be particularly harmful.

In our prospective birth cohort study in a large population of Swedish children, exposure to traffic-related air pollution during infancy was associated with decreases in lung function at age eight, with stronger effects indicated in boys, children with asthma and particularly in children sensitized to allergens.”

via Traffic Air Pollution Exposure During Infancy Harms The Lungs For Many Years.