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Particulate matter: an emerging murderer of infants and newborns

 Ambient air pollution has qualified as one of the most significant threats to the human survival in the recent years. The increasing population and associated increase in industrialization and urbanization has caused the air pollute at unprecedented rates. In the initial years, the impact of air pollution was not felt at the large scale. However, the accumulation of dangerous pollutants in the atmosphere over time has now caused the humans to face grave impacts on socioeconomic and health sectors. So far, the studies have focused majorly on the impact on socioeconomic sectors or the environmental degradation of air pollution. In the health sector, a large number of studies are focused on adult human health and survival but little focus is ever given to the impact of air pollution on babies and infants who are one of the vulnerable groups identified in the studies of air pollution (Payne-Sturges et al., 2019).

Among many causes of air pollution, the health impacts on human health due to the particulate matter are most prominent. Particulate matter includes the suspended aerosol particles in the ambient air which are the most toxic pollutants and are emitted from diverse sources such as power plants (especially coal-based), vehicular traffic, industries, burning of wastes, and forest fires. Particulate matter can be divided into two main types based on its size: coarse particulate matter with the aerodynamic diameter of 10 μm or less than 10 μm (PM10) and fine particulate matter with the aerodynamic diameter of 2.5μm or less (PM2.5). Some ultra fine particulate matter also exist which have the diameter of 0.1 μm or less (PM0.1).

The problem with fine and ultra fine particulate matter is that they can penetrate deeper in the respiratory tracts and airways and therefore have the potential to adversely impact the health as compared to coarse type particulate matter. On one hand where being the most toxic air pollutant, PM is associated with adult human health impacts, a plethora of studies identified that during the pregnancy, the exposure of a mother to particulate matter may lead to fatality and underdevelopment of a fetus. While in new burns, it may lead to chronic issues of respiratory and associated diseases. For example, various studies have identified that exposure of infants and newborns to particulate matter may increase the risk factor of asthma and respiratory infection (Jones et al., 2011).

Not just the respiratory diseases, a number of studies have also highlighted the cardiovascular and neurotoxic impacts of particulate matter on the infants and newborn children. The neurotoxic impacts have found to be most prominent in causing underdevelopment among these children. The prenatal exposure of the infants is prominent in PM based air pollution impact studies as they directly related to the rate of infant mortality, undergrowth and underdevelopment. Among many children, the genetic mutations are also found to be linked with exposure of mother to particulate matter (Li et al., 2019).

The issue of infant mortality and underdevelopment due to particulate matter is especially highlighted in the underdeveloped nations where there are less options of mitigation and adaptation as compared to developed nations. Therefore, it is a pressing need to focus the air pollution control technologies in these nations primarily to combat diseases linked with air pollution.

References

Jones, L. L., Hashim, A., McKeever, T., Cook, D. G., Britton, J., & Leonardi-Bee, J. (2011). Parental and household smoking and the increased risk of bronchitis, bronchiolitis and other lower respiratory infections in infancy: systematic review and meta-analysis. Respiratory research, 12(1), 1-11.

Li, Z., Tang, Y., Song, X., Lazar, L., Li, Z., & Zhao, J. (2019). Impact of ambient PM2. 5 on adverse birth outcome and potential molecular mechanism. Ecotoxicology and environmental safety, 169, 248-254.

Payne-Sturges, D. C., Marty, M. A., Perera, F., Miller, M. D., Swanson, M., Ellickson, K., … & Hertz-Picciotto, I. (2019). Healthy air, healthy brains: advancing air pollution policy to protect children’s health. American journal of public health, 109(4), 550-554.


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