City children bear brunt of air pollution: Experts

In the city too, environmentalists have been campaigning against air pollution, which is a major cause of respiratory ailments, especially in areas like North Chennai, which has power plants, petrochemical companies and countless other industrial units.

The study reported, “Children are at high risk of pollution-related disease and even extremely low-dose exposures to pollutants during windows of vulnerability in utero and in early infancy can result in disease, disability, and death in childhood and across their lifespan. Pollution has been neglected, especially in low-income and middle-income countries, and the health effects of pollution are underestimated in calculations of the global burden of disease.”

Speaking to DT Next, city-based pulmonologist Dr N Murugan said that pollution is one of the main aggravating factors. “For example, if a person has asthma or Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), exposure to pollution can worsen the pre-existing condition. In case of people without a pre-existing condition, long-term exposure to pollution can cause respiratory conditions. For instance, there are patients who have lived in other countries like the US and UK, complain that they have started showing symptoms after returning to India, following which there has been the onset of a specific disorder,” he added.