Health risks for urban kids exposed to traffic pollution, experts warn

Kids Health

Urban childcare centres should be built away from busy urban roads to minimise kids’ exposure to traffic pollution, experts warn. In a commentary paper published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, University of Melbourne researchers have analysed childcare locations and road vehicle density in inner-city Melbourne. The paper highlights increasing evidence that exposure to traffic-related air […]

Continue reading »

Air pollution may impact fetal cardiovascular system, study says

Health Problems

Microscopic particles in air pollution inhaled by pregnant women may damage fetal cardiovascular development, according to a study by Rutgers researchers. The study, published in the journal Cardiovascular Toxicology, found that early in the first trimester and late in the third trimester were critical windows during which pollutants most affect the mother’s and fetus’ cardiovascular systems. “These findings suggest that […]

Continue reading »

In-womb air pollution exposure associated with higher blood pressure in childhood

Health Problems

Children who were exposed to higher levels of air pollution during the third trimester of their mother’s pregnancy had a higher risk of elevated blood pressure in childhood, according to new research in the American Heart Association’s journal Hypertension. Fine particulate matter of 2.5 microns or less (PM2.5) is a form of air pollution produced by motor vehicles and the […]

Continue reading »