Air pollution sending children to hospital
(source ABC.net.au)
By Timothy McDonald
Updated March 22, 2010 18:23:00
The AIHW report confirms the link between asthma and air
pollution, particularly among infants and children (ABC News:
Giulio Saggin)
Air pollution accounts for at least 4 per cent of
hospitalisations of babies and children, a new Australian Institute
of Health and Welfare (AIHW) report estimates.
The report's author, Dr Adrian Webster, says the study examines
the extent of the link between air pollution and asthma
attacks.
"Four per cent of around 3,500 hospitalisations of [newborns] to
14-year-olds were related to the amount of particulates in the
air," he said.
"This is an estimate based on the methodology we've
developed.
"In relation to adults we only looked at nitrogen dioxide [as]
unfortunately we couldn't resource the research required to do it
for particulates.
"We found about 3 per cent ... [were] hospitalised due to
nitrogen dioxide levels in the air."
The report is based on data from Melbourne in 2006
and is limited to two pollutants.
Dr Webster says there are several other pollutants that
exacerbate asthma symptoms, so it is likely the total effect is
worse than the report suggests.
"We are breaking air pollution in total down to its component
parts, so the overall impact of air pollution is likely to be much
greater than that," he said.
"But unfortunately we weren't able to look at the total picture
because of a lack of research in the area."
Associate Professor Bin Jalaludin from Liverpool Hospital, who
specialises in the effects of air pollution on respiratory illness,
says his research has found that young children are especially
vulnerable on high pollution days.
"On high pollution days there are more [admittances] in most
departments in Sydney [for] children, especially aged one to four,"
he said.
"[For] articulate matter we found an increase of about 1.3 per
cent, for nitrogen dioxide about 3 per cent and for ozone about 1
per cent."
More Info
Healthy
Home