Cleaner Air Can Bolster Children’s & Teenagers’ Lung Capacities

News Desk

Islamabad: Reducing air pollution can aid in enhancing children’s and teenagers’ lung capacity. Lower exposure to airborne pollutants, even at relatively low levels, is associated with improvements in the development of lung function from childhood to early adulthood, according to a study.

Published in the European Respiratory Journal, the team tested lung function of 4,000 individuals at the ages of 8, 16, and 24 for the study.

The amounts of airborne contaminants, largely from traffic, at the locations where the subjects lived from infancy to early adulthood were what the researchers focused on most.

“We discover that lung function improved by a few per cent in the participants in the young adult age group when we compare the people living in the places where air quality has improved and those where it hasn’t,” said Karolinska Institute in Sweden Institute of Environmental Medicine Postdoc Researcher Zhebin Yu.

“But above all we could see a 20 per cent lower risk of having significantly impaired lung function,” Yu added.

Karolinska Institute Department of Clinical Research and Education Professor Erik Melen stated that the results are important since optimal lung development during childhood is a powerful determinant of good health in adulthood.

“As lung function that children and adolescents develop as they grow up remains throughout adulthood, it is ultimately of enormous relevance,” he said.

Paediatrician Erik Melen stated that chronic lung conditions like Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), cardiovascular disease, and early death are more likely in adults who have impaired lung function. So, by enhancing air quality, we lower the risk of childhood chronic illness development.

It is generally known that airborne contaminants have a negative effect on children’s lung health. The researchers note that less study has been done on how variations in air quality can impact young children’s and adolescents’ lung development.

These new findings demonstrate that air pollution can have a significant role in the improvement or deterioration of lung function growth over time, which is consistent with other studies.