Just one week away from the city air allowed children with asthma and allergic symptoms to show improvements in their respiratory health. That’s the conclusion of a study in the March issue of Pediatrics. One week allowed school age kids to show both a reduction in airway inflammation and an increase in lung function, showing that pollution and particles in the air make asthma and allergies worse.

The study’s senior author, Dr Giovanni Piedimonte, chairman of the pediatrics department at West Virginia School of Medicine, was ultimately surprised by the findings. “I thought we would see a difference, but I didn’t think we’d have such statistically significant changes,” said Piedimonte.

Previous studies have show that particulate matter in the air from pollution increases both asthma and allergy symptoms. Some studies have actually shown that certain pollutants increase wheezing, respiratory infections and result in stronger reactions to allergens.

However, no previous study has looked at whether the negative affects of air pollution were reversible or not.

In order to test the hypothesis, researchers took a group of 37 Italian children from urban areas and moved them to a rural hotel for a one week camp experience. All the kids involved had both allergies and mild asthma. After a week, children saw a decrease in allergy-related white blood cells in their nasal passages, as well as improved lung function. The good news for the parents of allergic and asthmatic children is that the study shows that the damage caused by air pollution and particulate matter in the air may indeed be reversible.

Piedimonte said, “One of the best things we could accomplish is to clean the air in cities…. If we cut funding to agencies like the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency], the implications for children’s health are going to be very dire.”

This study adds to the growing body of evidence that pollution is a significant causal factor in asthma.

Source: US News