Air pollution may affect everyone including kids. Recently, a lot of studies have been done to find out how air pollution may have a negative impact on kids’ health.
And the bad news is that the results were scary. In this article, we are going to know more about it. Read on to find out more.
Today, air pollution is a common problem across the planet. According to a study done by WHO, around 93% of kids around the world breathe in an environment that is full of air pollution. The rest of 7% of kids are at a high exposure to pollution.
Air pollution may affect people of all ages, but kids are at a higher risk due to a number of reasons. For instance, they have under-developed organs and they breathe faster than grown-ups. Therefore, they take in more pollutants than adults. Apart from this, they spend a lot of time outdoors playing with other friends.
Pollutants may have a negative impact on babies in the wombs. As a matter of fact, exposure to some specific pollutants may cause birth defects. The most common of these pollutants include CO, O3, NOx, SO2, and PM, just to name a few.
Also, many studies have found that long-term exposure to particle matter may increase the likelihood of low birth weight and premature birth. Also, there is solid evidence that pollutants may cause stillbirths.
As far as kids’ health is concerned, air pollution is on the list of the most dangerous threats. If you look at statistics, you will come to know that around 10% kids below the age of 5 die because of air pollutants.
Infant mortality: the likelihood of infant mortality goes up when the pollution level rises. This is true about being exposed to different types of toxic gases.
Neuro Development: According to some recent research studies, pollution may damage the cognitive abilities of a kid. Also, it may trigger different types of behavioral disorders in kids like ADHD and autism.
Obesity: According to many studies, there is a link between obesity and pollution in kids. The WHO released many reports that suggest that air pollution may put at a higher risk of heart and respiratory disease. As a result, your kids may become obese due to slower metabolism.
Lung Function: Kids that rise in a polluted environment may experience insufficient lung growth. The reason is that there is a strong connection between pollutants and lung function.
ALRI: Long-term exposure to pollutants may cause acute lower respiratory infections like pneumonia in kids. And we know that respiratory infections are on the list of most common killers across the globe.
Asthma: If your kids continue to breathe in polluted air for the long term, they may develop asthma.
Long story short, these are just some of the ways air pollutants may have a negative impact on your kids’ health. If you want to avoid these issues, we suggest you use good-quality air purifiers.
