How Pollution Affects Kids: Development Delay, Stunted Growth

If you thought that the primary effect of the pollution your children are exposed to only causes them to fall ill, with respiratory ailments, you couldn’t be further from the truth. Apart from respiratory ailments, autoimmune diseases, affecting moods, and more, perhaps the scariest manifestation is how extreme pollution can stunt growth and affect the brain development of children. An interesting study done by researchers at IIT Delhi found that the highest decline in height amongst children is of those born between November and January, the months when the pollution levels peak. The researchers surveyed over 200,000 children between February 2010 to December 2015 to arrive at this conclusion. The research published in the journal, Environmental Health, concluded that newborn babies as well as fetuses of women in their third trimester are more likely to be shorter for their age, or be stunted later in life if the mother had been exposed to high levels of air pollution during pregnancy. Says Dr. Megha Consul , Principal Consultant, Pediatrics, Max Gurgaon, “A child’s future is pinned on the first 1000 days of development when brain growth is most rapid. Any damage during this critical period can cause long-lasting effects on their health and well-being. Early childhood is also a critical period for the continued development and maturation of several biological systems such as the brain, lung, and immune system and air toxins can impair lung function and neurodevelopment, or exacerbate existing conditions, such as asthma. Infants who were born premature or growth-retarded may be particularly vulnerable to additional environmental insults, for example, due to the immaturity of the lungs at birth.” Air pollution in pregnant mothers can affect the growth of child in-utero and lead to intrauterine growth retardation and stunting. In countries like India where air pollution is higher, […]

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