Air pollution during infancy and lung function development into adolescence: The GINIplus/LISA birth cohorts study

•Infancy air pollution exposure affects lung function growth up to adolescence.•Airway size may be more affected than lung volume restriction.•Maternal age, asthma and breastfeeding duration may modify the adverse effects. Limited evidence exists on how air pollution exposure during infancy, i.e. the first year of life, may affect lung function development into adolescence. To investigate the association between exposure to air pollution during the first-year of life and lung function development up to the age of 15 in Germany. We investigated 915 children from the GINIplus and LISA birth cohorts from Munich (n = 181) and Wesel (n = 734), who had at least two spirometric measurements at ages 6, 10 and 15. Z-scores of forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC) were calculated. Annual average concentrations of nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter with diameters