Asthma attacks in children are linked to air pollution, finds research

New research has investigated reasons for asthma attacks that aren’t caused by viral infections. Scientists have concluded that the level of air pollution to which minors are exposed in urban centers is linked to sudden attacks.

Asthma is a problem where a person’s airways become obstructed, which makes it difficult for them to be able to breathe. In some cases, a person with asthma may have a sudden attack, seriously compromising the passage of air into the lungs. The scenario is serious and can lead to death.

The new research, which was published in the Lancet, aimed to understand the reasons for these attacks without an obvious reason. An existing hypothesis is that polluting gases would be one of the factors. The study used this possible explanation to perform analyses.

The scientists compared data from two previously conducted North American studies. Both investigations followed children with a history of asthma who lived in urban areas of US cities.

The researchers in the Lancet article selected a specific sample from each of these two studies. Of the first, there were 168 participants who reported cases of respiratory diseases. In the second study, the investigators selected data from 189 children who had nasal samples collected.

Then, the authors complemented the information from these children with air quality data, such as the amount of polluting particles, from the locations where they lived. With the parallel drawn between the respiratory condition of minors and pollution, it was possible to observe how poor air quality was associated with an increase in respiratory problems and also with the appearance of asthma attacks when there were no records of viral infection in children.

This is because these pollutants impact the upper airways, which can lead to asthma attacks. In addition, they also have an effect on breathing capacity by causing a decrease in lung activity.

One of these pollutants observed in the study is fine particulate matter, imperceptible to the human eye. Examples of this type of compound are smoke emissions from vehicles and forest fires. In the study, the scientists concluded that an increased amount of fine particulate matter in the air provoked a series of inflammatory responses not seen in asthma attacks triggered by a common viral infection.

Ozone (O₃) was another compound with a considerable relationship with the worsening of air quality and the appearance of asthma attacks observed in the children in the study. When located in the stratosphere, that is, at least 40 km above the Earth’s surface, this compound is beneficial for forming the ozone layer, an important mechanism to protect against ultraviolet radiation.

However, if present in the troposphere, up to 10 km above the Earth, it can cause respiratory problems, such as lung inflammation. This was one of the problems that scientists observed in children with the new research.