Air pollution may shave as much as seven months off the life expectancy of children who live in congested cities, UK research suggests.
The “mortality burden” of a lifetime of breathing toxic air has been calculated for one of the UK’s largest cities, Birmingham, by a team from King’s College London.
Researchers estimate that an eight-year-old living in the city today can expect to die two to seven months earlier based on the expected pollution concentrations for the city.
Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England said: “Two point six million children in England are breathing in toxic fumes everyday and now there is clear and frightening evidence that this could also shorten their lives.
Sue Huyton, co-ordinator of the Clean Air Parents’ Network, said: “It’s awful that children living in the UK are breathing air that may shorten their lives."
Holly Billington, director of the UK100 network, which commissioned the research, said:
“We need to tackle this invisible killer, which is cutting the lives of children and causing health misery for thousands of adults.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/air-pollution-child-life-expectancy-birmingham-a8992456.htm
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