​Kids growing up in cities suffer from more respiratory infections, finds study​

The researchers found that children living in urban areas had an average of 17 respiratory infections, such as coughs and colds, before the age of three compared to an average of 15 infections in children living in rural areas. The researchers analysed the immune systems of the kids when they were four weeks old. For this study, a total of 663 children and their mothers were involved from pregnancy until the children were three years old.

“Our findings suggest that urban living is an independent risk factor for developing infections in early life when taking account of several related factors such as exposure to air pollution and starting day care. Interestingly, changes in the blood of pregnant mothers and newborn babies, as well as changes in the new-born immune system, seem to partly explain this relationship," said Dr Nicklas Brustad, a researcher and physician on the Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood (COPSAC) based at Gentofte Hospital and the University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

The second study presented by Dr Tom Ruffles from Brighton and Sussex Medical School and University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, Brighton, UK found that breastfeeding for longer than six months helped protect babies and children from infections, while attending day care increased the risk. The study includes data of 1344 mothers and their children living in Scotland and England. The mothers were asked to fill questionnaires with questions on chest infections, symptoms such as coughing and wheezing, respiratory medication, and exposure to potential environmental risk factors.

Analysis of the questionnaire revealed that young children living in homes with visible damp were twice as likely to need treatment with an inhaler to relieve respiratory symptoms and twice as likely to need treatment with a steroid inhaler. Living in an area with dense traffic increased the risk of chest infections, and exposure to tobacco smoke increased the risk of coughing and wheezing. “This research provides some important evidence about how we can help reduce chest infections in babies and toddlers. The benefits of breastfeeding are well-established, and we should continue to support mothers who want to breastfeed their babies. We should also be making every effort to reduce exposure to infections in day care, keep homes free of damp and mould, reduce tobacco smoking and cut air pollution," said Dr. Ruffles.