Even low levels of air pollution appear to affect children's lung health

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-04/bidm-ell042516.php

Public Release: 25-Apr-2016
Even low levels of air pollution appear to affect children's lung health
By age 8, children living close to major roadways have decreased lung function
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

According to new research led by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) pulmonologist and critical care physician Mary B. Rice, MD, MPH, improved air quality in U.S. cities since the 1990s may not be enough to ensure normal lung function in children. The findings were recently published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care, a journal of the American Thoracic Society.

Rice and colleagues found that children exposed to higher levels of air pollution, including fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and soot (black carbon), had worse lung function than those living in less polluted areas. By age eight, children living within 100 meters of a major roadway had lung function that was on average 6 percent lower than that of children living 400 meters or more away.

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