Better air quality results in fewer children with asthma and less severe symptoms for those who do have asthma. This is revealed in a new study to be published in the journal Annals of the American Thoracic Society.
If we can reduce exposure and air pollution, we also see very positive effects on our children's health, and that's something we should take on board and work with, says Erik Melén, professor and paediatric allergist at Södersjukhuset in Stockholm and co-author of the study [to Sveriges Radio](– If we can reduce exposure and air pollution, we also see very positive effects on our children's health, and that's something we should take on board and work with.).
The study, which has followed nearly 2,400 children in Stockholm until they turned 24, shows that fewer children developed asthma and that those who did had milder symptoms.
To conduct the study, levels of air pollution between birth and 8 years old were mapped and the risk of developing asthma between 8 and 24 years old was assessed. The results show that there is a link between reduced levels of air pollution and a lower risk of developing asthma.
The improvement in air quality in Stockholm is due, among other things, to the use of cleaner fuels and the introduction of environmental zones.
