Air pollution can affect everyone, including children. Recently, many studies have been conducted to find out how air pollution can have a negative impact on children’s health. Today, air pollution is a common problem across the planet. According to a study by the WHO, about 93% of the world’s children breathe in a polluted environment. The remaining 7% of children are highly exposed to pollution.
Air pollution can affect people of all ages, but children are more at risk for a number of reasons. For example, they have underdeveloped organs and they breathe faster than adults. Therefore, they absorb more pollutants than adults. Apart from that, they spend a lot of time outside playing with other friends. Pollutants can have a negative impact on babies in the womb. Indeed, exposure to certain specific pollutants can cause birth defects. The most common of these pollutants are CO, O3, NOx, SO2, SO3 and particulate matter, to name a few.
In addition, many studies have shown that long-term exposure to particulate matter can increase the likelihood of low birth weight and premature birth. When it comes to children’s health, air pollution is on the list of the most dangerous threats. If you look at the statistics, you will know that about 10% of children under the age of 5 die because of air pollutants.
Infant mortality: The probability of infant mortality increases when the level of pollution increases. It is true to be exposed to different types of toxic gases.
Neurological development: According to some recent studies, pollution can damage a child’s cognitive abilities. In addition, it can trigger different types of behavioral disorders in children like Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and autism.
Obesity: According to many studies, there is a link between obesity and pollution in children. The WHO has published numerous reports that suggest that air pollution can increase the risk of heart and respiratory diseases. As a result, your children may become obese due to a slower metabolism.
Lung function: Children who get up in a polluted environment may have insufficient lung growth. The reason for this is that there is a strong link between pollutants and lung function.
ALRI: Long-term exposure to pollutants can cause acute lower respiratory tract infections such as pneumonia in children. And we know that respiratory infections are on the list of the most common killers around the world.
Asthma: If your children continue to breathe polluted air in the long term, they may develop asthma. In short, these are just a few of the ways air pollutants can negatively impact your children’s health.
If you want to avoid these problems, we suggest you use good quality air purifiers and stay in a very clean surroundings with trees around.
