研究表明，污染與兒童首次哮喘有關(guān)

研究表明，污染與兒童首次哮喘有關(guān)

The more children are exposed to pollution, the greater the risk they will develop their first case of asthma, a large study has found.

一項大型研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，暴露在污染環(huán)境中的兒童越多，他們患上第一次哮喘的風險就越大。

The study, published in the BMJ on Wednesday, adds to the growing evidence that exposure to air pollution influences the development of chronic breathing problems.

這項周三發(fā)表在《英國醫(yī)學(xué)雜志》(BMJ)上的研究，進一步證明暴露于空氣污染會影響慢性呼吸問題的發(fā)展。

Pollution linked to first time asthma
污染與首次哮喘有關(guān)

Doctors have long known that even brief exposure to air pollution can make asthma worse, but less is known about whether pollution raises the risk that children will develop asthma in the first place.

醫(yī)生們早就知道，即使是短暫的暴露在空氣污染中，也會使哮喘加重，但對于污染是否會增加兒童首次患哮喘的風險，人們知之甚少。

Researchers looked at data from nearly 780,000 Danish children born from 1997 to 2014. They followed up with the records to see if any of the children develop persistent wheezing and asthma between the ages of 1 and 15.

研究人員查看了1997年至2014年出生的近78萬丹麥兒童的數(shù)據(jù)。他們對這些記錄進行了跟蹤，看看這些孩子在1歲到15歲之間是否會出現(xiàn)持續(xù)性的喘息和哮喘。

They found that children whose parents had asthma were also more likely to have asthma, as were children whose mothers smoked when they were pregnant.

他們發(fā)現(xiàn)，父母患有哮喘的孩子也更有可能患哮喘，母親在懷孕期間吸煙的孩子也是如此。

But even when adjusting for these factors, it was when the children were exposed to higher levels of small particle pollution and nitrate pollution that they were more likely to develop asthma and persistent wheezing compared to children who were not exposed.

但是，即使對這些因素進行調(diào)整，與未暴露在高濃度小顆粒污染和硝酸鹽污染中的兒童相比，暴露在高濃度小顆粒污染和硝酸鹽污染中的兒童更容易患哮喘和持續(xù)性喘息。

For every additional 5µg-per-cubic-meter increase in concentrations of those pollutants, there was about a 4 or 5% increase in asthma or persistent wheezing.

每立方米這些污染物的濃度每增加5千克，哮喘或持續(xù)性喘息的發(fā)病率就會增加4%或5%。

Particle pollution
顆粒污染

Particle pollution comes from power plants, cars, construction, farming and fires. Particle pollution, instead of being breathed out, can get stuck in the lungs or go into the bloodstream. The particles can cause irritation and inflammation.

顆粒污染來自發(fā)電廠、汽車、建筑、農(nóng)業(yè)和火災(zāi)。顆粒污染不會被呼出，而是會卡在肺部或進入血液。這些顆粒會引起刺激和炎癥。

There are limitations to the study, since it is observational and relies on a model, and didn't look at children's specific personal exposure to pollution. There's an underlying assumption that children spent the majority of the time in the area of their residential address.

這項研究存在局限性，因為它是觀察性的，依賴于一個模型，而且沒有考察兒童個人具體接觸污染的情況。有一種潛在的假設(shè)是，孩子們大部分時間都呆在他們居住的地方。

Personal air monitoring may add more detail to an assessment like this. There may also be other risk factors that couldn't be captured by the data since it lacked individual level information.

個人空氣監(jiān)測可以為這樣的評估增加更多的細節(jié)。由于缺乏個人層面的信息，數(shù)據(jù)可能無法捕捉到其他風險因素。

Huge health impact

巨大的健康影響

Earlier studies have shown that even at low levels of small particulate matter pollution, children may be more likely to develop asthma than if they lived in an area with cleaner air.

早期的研究表明，即使小顆粒物污染水平較低，兒童也可能比生活在空氣更清潔的地區(qū)更容易患哮喘。

Air pollution is believed to shorten the life expectancy of children by 20 months on average, according to a 2019 study.

根據(jù)2019年的一項研究，空氣污染被認為會使兒童的預(yù)期壽命平均縮短20個月。

Exposure to pollution is also linked to heart problems, cancer, and premature death. And it's not just physical problems.

暴露在污染中也與心臟病、癌癥和過早死亡有關(guān)。這不僅僅是身體上的問題。

A 2019 study found that even short-term exposure to high ambient air pollution corresponded with a rise in visits to the children's psychiatric emergency department for adjustment disorder, suicidal thoughts, and schizophrenia.

2019年的一項研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，即使短期暴露于高環(huán)境空氣污染中，兒童精神病院急診科因適應(yīng)障礙、自殺想法和精神分裂癥而就診的人數(shù)也會相應(yīng)增加。

This isn't a problem isolated to Denmark. According to the World Health Organization, around 93% of the world's children breathe air that is so polluted it puts their health and development at serious risk.

這不是丹麥獨有的問題。根據(jù)世界衛(wèi)生組織的數(shù)據(jù)，全球約93%的兒童呼吸的空氣污染嚴重，嚴重威脅到他們的健康和發(fā)育。

The 2020 State of the Air report from the American Lung Association found that more Americans, more than 46% of the US, lived in communities impacted by unhealthy levels of pollution.

美國肺臟協(xié)會發(fā)布的《2020年空氣狀況報告》發(fā)現(xiàn)，更多的美國人(超過46%的美國人)生活在受不健康污染水平影響的社區(qū)。

That's higher than was found in past reports. Scientists think the climate crisis is making it even harder to protect human health, since warmer temperatures make air pollution a much bigger problem.

這比過去的報告發(fā)現(xiàn)的要高。科學(xué)家認為，氣候危機使保護人類健康變得更加困難，因為氣溫升高使空氣污染成為一個更大的問題。