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. 2021 Jan;64(1):3-11.
doi: 10.3345/cep.2019.00843. Epub 2020 Jun 10.

Review of epidemiological studies on air pollution and health effects in children

Jong-Tae Lee  1
Affiliations

Review of epidemiological studies on air pollution and health effects in children

Jong-Tae Lee. Clin Exp Pediatr. 2021 Jan.

Abstract

There is a growing body of literature on the adverse health effects of ambient air pollution. Children are more adversely affected by air pollution due to their biological susceptibility and exposure patterns. This review summarized the accumulated epidemiologic evidence with emphasis on studies conducted in Korea and heterogeneity in the literature. Based on systematic reviews and meta-analyses, there is consistent evidence on the association between exposure to ambient air pollution and children's health, especially respiratory health and adverse birth outcomes, and growing evidence on neurodevelopmental outcomes. Despite these existing studies, the mechanism of the adverse health effects of air pollution and the critical window of susceptibility remain unclear. There is also a need to identify causes of heterogeneity between studies in terms of measurement of exposure/outcome, study design, and the differential characteristics of air pollutants and population.

Keywords: Air pollution; Birth outcomes; Children; Infant mortality; Neurodevelopment; Respiratory health.

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Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

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