Air Pollution Increases The Risk Of High Blood Pressure In Childhood

According to SAEDNEWS, citing HealthDay News, researchers report that exposure to smoke before and after birth increases the likelihood of a child developing high blood pressure between the ages of 5 and 12.

The study specifically linked childhood blood pressure to fine particulate air pollution.

Yu Nie, the lead researcher at San Diego State University, said in a press release: “These findings suggest that exposure to fine particulate air pollution early in life may affect children’s cardiometabolic health, even at relatively low levels.”

In background notes, researchers said that high blood pressure has become more common among children, increasing by nearly 80% over the past two decades. The condition can lead to long-term health problems such as heart disease and impaired kidney function.

For the study, researchers analyzed data from more than 4,800 children participating in a research project. They compared children’s health between ages 5 and 12 with outdoor air pollution levels during each trimester of pregnancy, the entire pregnancy, and the first two years of life.

They found that children exposed to higher levels of particulate pollution before and after birth had, on average, higher blood pressure.

The results showed that exposure during the first trimester of pregnancy had the strongest effect.

These pollutants were associated with higher systolic blood pressure and a greater likelihood of childhood hypertension.

However, researchers also found that maternal exposure to another pollutant—nitrogen dioxide—was associated with slightly lower blood pressure in children. This effect was strongest in mid to late pregnancy.

Nie said: “The unexpected findings regarding nitrogen dioxide suggest that more research is needed to understand how this type of air pollution affects the developing bodies of children, as well as whether other environmental factors such as traffic noise may play a role.”