Air Pollution Exposure and Lung Function Until Age 16 Years: The PIAMA Birth Cohort Study

Purpose of the Study: Evidence for the effects of air pollution exposure on lung function growth into adolescence is scarce. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the associations of air pollution exposure from birth with lung function growth from ages 8 to 16 and lung function at age 16. Potential confounders (sex and asthma diagnosis) were also explored. Study Population: The study was performed within the Dutch population-based Prevention and Incidence of Asthma and Mite Allergy birth cohort. From the 3963 pregnant women initially enrolled, 915 children (mean age: 16.3 years) had sufficient longitudinal data for this study. Methods: Both longitudinal (n = 915) and cross-sectional (n = 721) analyses were conducted. Researchers estimated residential concentrations of nitrogen dioxide, "soot," and particulate matter (PMx, where x is the 50% cutoff aerodynamic diameter in μm) with diameters of