Childhood Air Pollution Exposure Tied to Later Bronchitic Symptoms

THURSDAY, July 25, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Childhood exposure to air pollution is associated with adult bronchitic symptoms, according to a study published online June 25 in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

Erika Garcia, Ph.D., M.P.H., from University of Southern California in Los Angeles, and colleagues evaluated associations between childhood air pollution exposure and self-reported adult bronchitic symptoms. Analysis included 1,308 participants in the Southern California Children’s Health Study.

The researchers found that at adult assessment (mean age, 32.0 years) 25 percent of participants reported bronchitic symptoms. There was an association between adult bronchitic symptoms and childhood exposures to nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and particulate matter <10 μm (PM₁₀). Per each standard deviation increase odds were 69 percent higher for NO₂ and 51 percent for PM₁₀. Results were similar when adjusting for childhood bronchitic symptoms or asthma. Associations with NO₂ and PM₁₀ were modified by childhood asthma, with larger associations among asthmatics.

"There may be a subpopulation that is more sensitive to the effects of air pollution," Garcia said in a statement. "We may want to be especially careful to protect them from exposure, so we can improve their outcomes later in life. Reducing air pollution would have benefits not only for current asthma in children but also for their respiratory health as they grow into adulthood."

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