Early life exposure to ambient air pollution and childhood asthma in China.

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Early life exposure to ambient air pollution and childhood asthma in China.

Environ Res. 2015 Oct 7;143(Pt A):83-92

Authors: Deng Q, Lu C, Norbäck D, Bornehag CG, Zhang Y, Liu W, Yuan H, Sundell J

Abstract
BACKGROUND: Early life is suggested to be a critical time in determining subsequent asthma development, but the extent to which the effect of early-life exposure to ambient air pollution on childhood asthma is unclear.
OBJECTIVES: We investigated doctor-diagnosed asthma in preschool children due to exposure to ambient air pollution in utero and during the first year of life.
METHODS: In total 2490 children aged 3-6 years participated in a questionnaire study regarding doctor-diagnosed asthma between September 2011 and January 2012 in China. Children’s exposure to critical air pollutants, sulfur dioxide (SO2) as proxy of industrial air pollution, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) as proxy of traffic pollution, and particulate matter?10µm in diameter (PM10) as a mixture, was estimated from the concentrations measured at the ambient air quality monitoring stations by using an inverse distance weighted (IDW) method. Logistic regression analysis was employed to determine the relationship between early-life exposure and childhood asthma in terms of odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI).
RESULTS: Association between early-life exposure to air pollutants and childhood asthma was observed. SO2 and NO2 had significant associations with adjusted OR (95% CI) of 1.45 (1.02-2.07) and 1.74 (1.15-2.62) in utero and 1.62 (1.01-2.60) and 1.90 (1.20-3.00) during the first year for per 50µg/m(3) and 15µg/m(3) increase respectively. Exposure to the combined high level of SO2 and NO2 in China significantly elevated the asthmatic risk with adjusted OR (95% CI) of 1.76 (1.18-2.64) in utero and 1.85 (1.22-2.79) during the first year compared to the low level exposure. The associations were higher for males and the younger children aged 3-4 than females and the older children aged 5-6.
CONCLUSIONS: Early-life exposure to ambient air pollution is associated with childhood asthma during which the level and source of air pollution play important roles. The high level and nature of combined industrial and traffic air pollution in China may contribute to the recent rapid increase of childhood asthma.

PMID: 26453943 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]

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Early infancy microbial and metabolic alterations affect risk of childhood asthma – Science Magazine

Early infancy microbial and metabolic alterations affect risk of childhood asthma
Science Magazine
Changes in the gut microbiota have been implicated in the development of asthma in animal models; however, it has remained unclear whether these findings hold true in humans. Now, Arrieta et al. report in a longitudinal human study that infants at risk

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Exposure to Indoor Pollutants and Wheeze and Asthma Development during Early Childhood.

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Exposure to Indoor Pollutants and Wheeze and Asthma Development during Early Childhood.

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2015;12(4):3993-4017

Authors: Patelarou E, Tzanakis N, Kelly FJ

Abstract
BACKGROUND: This review aimed to summarize existing epidemiological evidence of the association between quantitative estimates of indoor air pollution with early childhood respiratory disease.
METHODS: We carried out a systematic literature search of peer-reviewed epidemiological studies undertaken in “westernized” countries that have assessed exposure to indoor pollutants and asthma and wheeze from infancy up to the age of 5.
RESULTS: The search, between January 2004 and February 2014 yielded 1840 studies for consideration. Following application of eligibility criteria to titles and abstracts 22 independent studies were deemed relevant for further review. Two additional studies were next identified through examination of the references’ lists of these studies. Of these 24 selected studies, 16 adopted a prospective cohort design and 8 were case-control studies. Fourteen studies assessed exposure to bio-aerosols, 8 studies assessed exposure to specific air chemicals and two studies assessed exposure to bio-aerosols and air chemicals. Furthermore, 11 studies examined the association of exposure with asthma and 16 with wheeze. Findings indicate that existing studies have reported contradictory effects of indoor pollutants levels and occurrence of asthma/wheeze.
CONCLUSION: Additional research to establish causality and evaluate interventions to prevent disease onset is needed.

PMID: 25872014 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]

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