by Chiara Bidoli
In Italy it is estimated that 20% of mortality is linked to environmental factors. While waiting for the level of fine dust to decrease, is it more prudent to keep children indoors or can they go out? If so, are there any precautions?
In Italy it is estimated that 20% of mortality is linked to environmental factors.
What is worrying, particularly in recent days, is the Po Valley which has long been among the most polluted areas in the world. While waiting for the air to change and the rains to return, expected in these days, which would allow the levels of fine dust and other pollutants harmful to health to be lowered,
Is it better to keep children at home or let them go out? Is there a greater danger for the little ones who go out in a stroller or pram – and who are therefore at the height of the exhaust pipes? We asked Rino Agostiniani, National Councilor of the Italian Society of Paediatrics.
«At the height of strollers there is certainly greater contact with environmental pollutants, especially due to car exhaust fumes and this increases the risks because the younger the children are the more vulnerable they are. In particular, in the so-called first thousand days, the period of time that spans from the moment of conception to the first two years of life, lifestyle has effects, even in the long term, on that individual’s health. There are several important studies that have shown us how environmental pollutants can also play a role from this point of view and leave a decisive impact on an individual’s life. For this reason, especially in this range it is important to be particularly careful”, explains the expert.
Is taking children out, especially small ones, on days when fine particles are above the limits dangerous?
«On days when there is a strong smog alarm, walking around the city with a stroller certainly generates greater risks. However, distinctions must be made: it is one thing to take the child for a walk in a sufficiently large park, which allows the negative effects of pollutants to be mitigated, but it is another thing to go around very busy areas which should absolutely be avoided. Even driving around in the car does not completely protect you from environmental pollutants, so on smog emergency days it is better, if possible, to stay at home. However, we should make a broader reflection and not just ask ourselves what we can do to protect our child but what we can, and must do, to help reduce environmental pollution which is largely generated by cars. Certainly going more on foot or by public transport would help protect everyone, but we need new awareness that will allow us not to reach these risk levels that concern all urbanized areas, not just Lombardy”, says the pediatrician.
Is it better for an expectant mother or a small child to stay indoors on smog alert days?
«I wouldn’t be so categorical, I would be guided by common sense. When environmental risks increase, it would be preferable to go out exclusively in green areas, avoiding long transits in particularly busy areas and perhaps then locking yourself up in a shopping centre. However, staying in a park for at least an hour and letting older children run around in the open air is still a cure-all but the journey should also be evaluated and the pros and cons weighed. From this point of view, less urbanized areas are certainly easier to find the right balance. However, it is useless to focus only on the pollution of these days of alarm, our children’s lifestyle must be evaluated in its complexity. Barricading yourself in the house for fear of fine dust and then perhaps smoking and exposing the child to secondhand smoke generates even greater risks. On the other hand, as I said before, in the “first thousand days” the individual’s genetic expressiveness is affected. In fact, all of us are born with a genetic heritage that can be activated or not and direct the future health trajectories of the individual.
The science that studies these impacts is called epigenetics and evaluates how exposure to environmental factors, nutrition and physical activity can modify the expression of genes (ed. without modifying the DNA sequence). In this very important phase of life it is better to be particularly careful, but this applies not only to pollutants, but also to nutrition and lifestyle in general”, continues the expert.
What are the effects of environmental pollutants on children?
«If an environmental pollutant comes into contact with a respiratory system that is in the growth and structuring phase, it is more likely to cause damage than it can cause in an already mature individual. Even an adult with a chronic pathology needs to be better protected. From clinical data we observe that in children who live in particularly polluted places there is a greater incidence of respiratory pathologies, such as asthma, and there is a fear supported by the data that chronic pathologies could be triggered. But it is useless to worry too much but rather be active protagonists to make society more sustainable and attentive to the needs of the most fragile”, concludes Agostiniani.
February 22, 2024 (modified February 22, 2024 | 12:51)
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