Beware — traffic pollution can harm your baby (even in the womb)!

By: Editorial Team | | Published: October 22, 2014 6:07 pm

Lungs: Scientists have developed a new technique by which they have transformed human stem cells into cells of the lungs and airways. This progress can be used to generate tissues of the lungs which can be used for transplantation. This finding has paved roads for treatment of various lung diseases like Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF).

A new study has found that exposure to pollution, especially during the second trimester of pregnancy, could harm a child’s lungs. Existing research has often highlighted the adverse effects of air pollutants on lung function in school-age children and adolescents, but the effects of a mother’s exposure to pollution on the lung function of her unborn child and shortly after birth are less well known. Also Read - Heavy smog can give you respiratory problems: Tips to protect yourself from air pollution

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Researchers led by Dr Eva Morales of the Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL) in Barcelona, assessed lung function with spirometry (measuring of breath), using data from the INfancia y Medio Ambiente (INMA) Project – a population-based mother-child cohort study set up in several geographic areas in Spain. From the 1,295 women enrolled in the study at the beginning of pregnancy, the researchers obtained data on exposure to both air pollution and lung function assessment at 4.5 years old for 620 (48 percent) of their children. Also Read - Poor air quality 'can worsen' the severity and spread of coronavirus

Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is a widely used marker of traffic-related air pollution, and benzene levels can reflect industrial activities and are considered as a surrogate for a mixture of predominantly traffic-driven pollutants. Both were used as indicators of pollution in the areas in which the women lived. Analysis of the results showed that exposure to higher levels of benzene and NO2 in pregnancy was associated with reduced lung function parameters in breathing tests. (Read: Could your prolonged cough be due to bronchitis?)

Children whose mothers lived in a high traffic air pollution area for benzene during the second trimester of pregnancy had a 22 percent higher risk of impaired lung function than those living in less polluted areas. The risk for children of mothers living in a high traffic air pollution area for NO2 during their second trimester was 30 percent higher than those from less polluted areas.

Stronger associations between higher levels of pollution around pregnant women and poorer lung function in their subsequent children appeared among allergic children and those of lower social class. However, there was no significant evidence of an association between early postnatal life (during the first year of life), recent and current exposures to outdoor air pollutants with lung function at preschool age. The researchers concluded that exposure to traffic-related air pollutants acting during the prenatal period could adversely impact the developing lung. (Read: Lung disease causes, types, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and prevention)

Here are 7 reasons for breathlessness

Reason #1: Breathlessness due to a problem with your lungs or airways:

Choking or when something is stuck in your throat:

Choking on something stuck in the airways can give you shortness of breath. But that is not a very serious problem. You can try the Heimlich maneuver on yourself or on the choking person (avoid performing this maneuver on very young children below the age of one year) or seek professional help immediately in case the breathlessness is prolonged.

But conditions given below can make you breathless repeatedly or for longer duration and definitely need medical attention.

Asthma:

Asthma is an inflammation in the airways causing the lungs to swell and narrow, which causes the symptoms of breathlessness, coughing and wheezing. Shortness of breath gets worse with any physical activity or exercise.

Clue to asthma:

Breathlessness that comes and goes, especially if accompanied by wheezing, is the symptom of asthma. Prompt medical help is required if there is severe breathing difficulty or there is severe anxiety because of shortness of breath, bluish color to lips and face, pulse rate increases and alertness decreases.

Reason #2: Breathlessness due to heart problems:

Angina, heart attack, heart failure, congenital heart defects, arrhythmia, all of these show symptoms of breathlessness. Incidentally, heart failure that is caused by the damage to the heart muscle is preceded by the other heart conditions such as heart attack, angina, etc.

The shortness of breath in heart failure is caused by the decreased ability of the heart to fill and empty, increasing the pressure in the blood vessels around the lungs, this causes the characteristic symptom of difficulty in breathing when the person is lying down , say cardiologists from Houston Medical Center. Read more about 7 reasons for breathlessness you probably didn t know about

With inputs from ANI

Photo source: Getty images

Published : October 22, 2014 6:07 pm

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