![Study finds asthma in toddlers linked to in-utero exposure to air pollution](https://chadlaw.dnsupdate.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/newborn_baby.jpg)
08
Jun 2021
Study finds asthma in toddlers linked to in-utero exposure to air pollution
According to new research, infants whose mothers have been exposed to increased levels of air pollution particles during pregnancy have a much higher chance of developing asthma.
The study examined the impact of ultra-fine particles (UFPs), which are not currently regulated by governments. These are believed to be even more toxic than the larger particles that are routinely monitored and have also been linked to asthma.
UFP sources include wood burners and vehicles, and tens of thousands of particles can be found in each sugar cube-sized volume of city air. The particles are thought to pass through the mother’s lungs and into her bloodstream, causing damage inflammation. They are also likely to cross the placenta into the foetus’s circulation.
Lead research Professor Rosalind Wright of the Icahn School of Medicine in New York, said “Our research is an important early step in building the evidence base that can lead to better monitoring of exposure to UFPs and ultimately to regulation. Childhood asthma remains a global epidemic that is likely to grow with the anticipated rise in particulate air pollution exposures due to effects of climate change.
Professor Wright went on to say that foetuses were particularly vulnerable to the oxidative stress that pollution particles cause in body tissues, “Foetal development is exquisitely sensitive to anything that throws the oxidation balance out of whack.”
In addition to avoiding polluted places, Professor Wright, a respiratory physician, said she tells her patients to consider taking antioxidants, as these have been shown to reduce inflammation caused by particle pollution.
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Posted by Karen Motley, Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.
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