OF3-11/06/09 8:25 AM
TRACKING BABIES' HEALTH AND AIR POLLUTION.
The Osgood File. I'm Charles Osgood on the CBS Radio Network.
Not very much attention has been paid until now to the effects of air pollution on young infants.
But now, a study has been done linking air pollution with inflammation of the small airways connecting the lungs to large airways in the chest. It's called bronchiolitis --- serious business for babies.
SOT - Dr. Catherine Karr, University of Washington
"A number of babies end up in the hospital. It's our number one reason that a baby will end up in the hospital in their first year of life here in North America. And it's a risk factor for development of asthma..."
Dr. Catherine Karr is assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington, and lead author of this new study.
Even in the relatively clean air of British Columbia, this newly-published study shows that infants exposed to higher levels of pollution are considerably at higher risk of developing bronchiolitis.
SOT - Dr. Catherine Karr
"We found that increasing exposure to air pollution, traffic sources, or wood smoke sources, or industrial sorts of air pollution were linked to increased risk for having bronchiolitis --- manifested as going to the doctor to be seen for bronchiolitis, or being in the hospital."
We already know that long-term air pollution's bad news for everybody. How are your findings about babies and bronchiolitis helpful?
SOT - Dr. Catherine Karr
"What's helpful about this is to understand that early life might be a time of real vulnerability to air pollution..."
So, it's not only doctors who need to realize this, but also the rest of us.
SOT - Dr. Catherine Karr
"We're learning increasingly that children are particularly vulnerable to health problems associated with environmental pollutants like air pollution --- and that, as we think about where kids spend time --- whether we're designing buildings or schools, or deciding where we're going to live in our next house or where the daycare that we're going to place our children is --- it's worth thinking about reducing their exposure to air pollution."
The Osgood File. Charles Osgood on the CBS Radio Network
The Osgood File. November 6th, 2009. |
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