2023-09-09 01:28:03
The relationship between birth weight and lung health is very strong; Children with low birth weight have a higher risk of asthma and higher rates of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) as they grow.
For the authors, it is essential to reduce air pollution and promote more landscaped and green spaces in towns and cities to protect babies and their developing lungs from possible damage.
The study used data from the Respiratory Health in Northern Europe (RHINE) study and included 4,286 children and their mothers living in five European countries (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland and Estonia).
The researchers, led by Robin Mzati Sinsamala, analyzed the greenness of the areas where the women lived during pregnancy by evaluating the density of the vegetation through satellite images. Vegetation includes forests and farmlands, as well as parks in urban areas.
The researchers also used data on five pollutants: nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), ozone, black carbon (BC) and two types of particles (PM 2.5 and PM 10 ).
Average air pollution levels were within European Union standards.
The researchers compared this information to the babies’ birth weight, taking into account factors known to affect birth weight, such as the mother’s age, whether she smoked, or had other health problems.
The results revealed that higher levels of air pollution were related to lower birth weights, and that the presence of high levels of PM 2.5, PM 10, NO 2 and BC was associated with average reductions in birth weight. born at 56 g, 46 g, 48 g and 48 g, respectively.
When the researchers took green spaces into account, the effect of air pollution on birth weight was reduced.
Thus, women who They lived in greener areas had babies with slightly higher birth weights (27 g more on average) than mothers who lived in less green areas.
«The moment when babies grow in the womb is essential for lung development. We know that babies with low birth weight are more susceptible to respiratory infections, and this can lead to problems such as asthma and COPD in the future,” says Sinsamala.
The results, says Sinsmala, “suggest that pregnant women exposed to air pollution, even at relatively low levels, give birth to smaller babies.” Furthermore, she adds, “they suggest that living in a greener area could help counteract this effect. “It’s possible that green areas tend to have less traffic or that plants help clean the air of pollution, or that green areas may mean it’s easier for pregnant women to be physically active.”
For the president of the European Society of Respiratory Diseaseswho was not involved in the research, “the study adds to current evidence about the damage that air pollution is having on our health, especially in vulnerable babies and young children.”
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