Exploring the feasibility of linking historical air pollution data to the Christchurch Health and Development study: A birth cohort study in Aotearoa, New Zealand

•Our study underscores the pivotal role of precise exposure data in birth cohort studies, revealing disparities in air pollution assessments across demographic and socioeconomic strata.•Utilisation of historical air pollution records to create an across-time database to longitudinally measure exposure to air pollution over the life course.•Demonstration of the feasibility of combining historical air pollution data with concurrently assessed demographic and socioeconomic factors. Spatial life course epidemiological approaches offer promise for prospectively examining the impacts of air pollution exposure on longer-term health outcomes, but existing research is limited. An essential aspect, often overlooked is the comprehensiveness of exposure data across the lifecourse. The primary objective was to meticulously reconstruct historical estimates of air pollution exposure to include prenatal exposure as well as annual exposure from birth to 10 years (1977–1987) for each cohort member. We linked these data from a birth cohort of 1,265 individuals, born in Aotearoa/New Zealand in mid-1977 and studied to age 40, to historical air pollution data to create estimates of exposure from birth to 10 years (1977–1987). Improvements in air quality over time were found. However, outcomes varied by demographic and socioeconomic factors. Future research should examine how inequitable air pollution exposure is related to health outcomes over the life course.