Air Pollutants Linked to Pediatric Asthma Attacks in Urban Communities

January 10, 2023 - A recent NIH study published in the Lancet Planetary Health found that increased air pollutants, such as fine particulate matter and oxidizing gases, are associated with a higher frequency of pediatric asthma attacks in urban communities. Throughout the years, asthma prevalence has increased in the United States, with up to 8.3% of Americans having asthma. Many sources have linked these rising rates to air pollution, which can trigger the condition’s onset and exacerbate existing respiratory disorders.

In an NIH study, researchers conducted a retrospective analysis using data from the Mechanisms Underlying Asthma Exacerbations Prevented and Persistent with Immune-based Therapy Part 1 (MUPPITS1) study. This study followed 208 children living in major urban areas between 2015 and 2017. Additionally, researchers looked at data from Inner-City Anti-IgE Therapy for Asthma (ICATA), which looked at 419 children between 2006 and 2009.

At the close of this retrospective cohort analysis, investigators concluded that “increased air quality index values, driven predominantly by increased PM2.5 and O₃ concentrations, were significantly associated with asthma exacerbations and decreases in pulmonary function that occurred in the absence of a provoking viral infection.”

This data suggests that air pollution is an independent risk factor for asthma. This data supports claims of environmental and clinical health inequity contributing to asthma. A study earlier this year found that Black and Hispanic pediatric patients, who are more likely to live in urban communities, are significantly more likely to develop asthma.

Specifically, Black children are almost 50% more likely to have asthma than their White counterparts. Additionally, Hispanic children are nearly 30% more likely to have asthma than White children. With this data in mind, the government and public health organizations need to find ways to reduce pollution and its subsequent health impacts.

“Given the study findings, it will be important to develop and test different strategies to see if they prevent or reduce pollution-associated asthma attacks in urban children. These strategies may include treatments designed to counteract the harmful effects of elevated levels of outdoor air pollutants on airway inflammatory responses linked to non-viral asthma attacks, and devices for personalized monitoring of local outdoor air pollutant levels to inform asthma management,” said the NIH in a recent press release.