Children with asthma spend more time in the hospital when there is a greater amount of “particulate matter” (PM 2.5) i.e. tiny pieces of solids or liquids, and Ozone (O₃), a colorless gas, in the air, according to a new study by researchers at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore (CHAM) in Norwood. The study was published in the Journal of Asthma just days after New York City was blanketed in wildfire smoke from the recent Canadian wildfires, as reported.

 

In what was described as a first-of-its-kind study in children led by pediatric hospitalist Elissa B. Gross D.O., M.P.H, the investigators assessed medical records of more than 1,700 children, aged 2 to 18 years of age, admitted to CHAM between 2017 and 2019. Researchers found that the mean length of stay for the children increased by up to 10 percent for every 10 micrograms of pollutants per cubic meter of air, equating to longer lengths of hospital stays during times when air quality was poorer.

 

According to data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), asthma is a leading cause of pediatric hospitalizations in the United States. In The Bronx, as reported, asthma prevalence in children is 17 percent, compared to 5.8 percent nationally. The researchers said there are many factors which that the condition, including socioeconomic status, environmental triggers found in homes such as mold and pests, and air pollution.

 

They say these factors disproportionately affect Bronx residents due to the many surrounding highways. They said The Bronx also has more federal air quality violations than any other borough. The analysis found that children with asthma, whose developing lungs are especially vulnerable to air pollutants, had longer hospitalizations when PM 2.5 in the air was high on the day of admission to the hospital, and when O₃ was elevated the day prior to hospitalization.

 

As reported, the Adams administration is pushing for New York to become a carbon-neutral city with the “City of Yes” plan.

 

Gross, who is also associate professor of clinical pediatrics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, said, “Our findings suggest that children with asthma may experience more severe exacerbations and remain hospitalized longer when they are exposed to a higher level of pollutants in the air.”

 

She added, “Hospitalizations are very disruptive to a child and their family, so it would be beneficial for everyone if there were more effective environmental policies that could help to prevent high levels of pollution so asthma exacerbations and chronic illness could be lessened for Bronx children.”