A study by China Medical University and the Academia Sinica Research Center for Environmental Changes suggests that babies born to women who were exposed to aerial heavy metal pollution during pregnancy might develop asthma.
The study was published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology in December last year.
Researchers tracked the health records of 171,281 children born from 2004 to 2011 in Taichung, and correlated the data to a model reconstruction of heavy metal pollution consisting of fine particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5).
Babies born to women who were exposed to arsenic, cadmium, mercury, lead or other heavy metals in the air during the early or late stages of pregnancy could develop asthma by age one, the study suggests.
Using the “Weather Research and Forecasting Model with Chemistry” allowed for a higher-resolution temporal and spatial reconstruction than could be achieved by direct observation, the research team said.
The first 14 weeks and the final eight weeks of pregnancy are crucial periods of exposure that determine asthma risk, China Medical University professor Hwang Bing-fang (黃彬芳) said last month.
The periods correspond to the embryonic and saccular stages of lung development respectively, he added.
PM2.5 particles pose a health threat because they can penetrate the alveolus and enter the bloodstream to reach every part of the body, Hwang said.
The government should reduce industry-specific air pollution quotas and increase the share of renewable energy in power supply or replace coal-fired plants with gas-fired ones, the team said.
The measures would reduce heavy metals contained in PM2.5 and alleviate asthma risks to vulnerable people, it said.
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