Concerns about the adverse effects of environmental exposures on children’s respiratory health are important determinants of public health policies. Chronic respiratory diseases put a high burden on public health in Europe. Allergy and asthma often start in children, but can persist throughout life. The years lived with disability (YLD) attributable to chronic diseases increased between 1990 and 2010. Complex and highly variable relationships between climate change and air pollutants have been describe Living near busy roads could be responsible for some 15-30% of all new cases of asthma in children; 15-30% of asthma exacerbations in children is attributable to air pollution. The concentrations of industrial activities involve environmental pressures, with potential adverse effects on asthma symptoms in children living in proximities to petrochemical sites. Normally, assessing the occurrence and extent of the associated health impacts is very difficult for several reasons; furthermore, specific confounding effects of lifestyle-related hazards cannot be ignored.
Socioeconomic background, urban dwelling, farm exposure, diet, obesity, tobacco smoke exposure and indoor and outdoor pollution are associate with atopic diseases and might facilitate the development of allergy through some mechanisms mainly involving reactive oxygen species production.
The purpose of this task force is to provide a consensus document through a systematic review which summarizes such evidences and helps Paediatrician, Allergist and Family Doctors to use such information when dealing with their patients in daily practice. This review will enable the Task Force to identify knowledge gaps and future research needs in relation to the burden of environmental pollution in children and adolescents with asthma and allergies.
Last updated 27 January 2016