Low birth weight linked to air pollution in Europe

A study in Europe suggests that severe air pollution can be linked to low birth rates in babies. The study is based on data collected from over 74,000 women in 12 countries over a course of 15 years. One doctor says the study is similar to those performed about smoking cessation, indicating that air pollution has a similar effect.

This is an issue as low birth rates of 5.5 lbs or less can cause increased respiratory problems and other disorders. The study found that for every increase of pollution per 5mg per cubic meter of air, the risk of low birth rate increased by 18 percent. Researchers also found that babies within higher risk areas had a smaller head circumference as well. Factors such as maternal smoking, age, height, weight and education were also taken into consideration but air particulates and traffic density were deemed a major cause in this study.

The article stipulates that if the women had been exposed to the amount of pollution set by the World Health Organization standards, at least 145 out of 50,151 babies could have a normal weight. This issue would involve preventing pregnant women from being exposed to high  pollution areas such as streets with heavy traffic. Researchers suggest that goverment policies should be in place to limit air pollution by requiring reductions in emissions by transportation.

This article was an interesting read because the study took many years to complete. This suggests that the day to day impact of air pollution is limited but over time it may be a hazard, especially to vulnerable people such as pregnant women and babies. Thus risk reduction and prevention would include reducing emissions. However, reducing emissions does not necessarily reduce the risk of global warming. As a health based risk though, this study suggests that air pollution should be reduced.  Often air pollution is neglected as a serious risk due to the fact that unless its particularly heavy, it will not affect a person on a daily basis; therefore, it is ignored and the need for transportation and heating outweighs long term health risks. I found it particularly interesting how the article related air pollution effects on newborn babies as the same effects of smoking while pregnant.

Article can be found at Aljazeera, provided by rueters:

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/11/1/air-pollution-linkedtolowbirthweightineurope.html