Air pollutants and early origins of respiratory diseases

• Published in: Chronic diseases and translational medicine Vol. 4; no. 2; pp. 75 - 94
• Main Authors: Kim, Dasom, Chen, Zi, Zhou, Lin-Fu, Huang, Shou-Xiong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: China Elsevier B.V 01.06.2018; Department of Environmental Health, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45249, USA%Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China; Chinese Medical Association; Wiley
• Subjects: Air pollutants; Early disease origin; Particulate matter; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon; Respiratory diseases; Early disease origin; Air pollutants; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon; Particulate matter; Respiratory diseases
• ISSN: 2095-882X; 2589-0514; 2589-0514
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cdtm.2018.03.003

Air pollution is a global health threat and causes millions of human deaths annually. The late onset of respiratory diseases in children and adults due to prenatal or perinatal exposure to air pollutants is emerging as a critical concern in human health. Pregnancy and fetal development stages are highly susceptible to environmental exposure and tend to develop a long-term impact in later life. In this review, we briefly glance at the direct impact of outdoor and indoor air pollutants on lung diseases and pregnancy disorders. We further focus on lung complications in later life with early exposure to air pollutants. Epidemiological evidence is provided to show the association of prenatal or perinatal exposure to air pollutants with various adverse birth outcomes, such as preterm birth, lower birth weight, and lung developmental defects, which further associate with respiratory diseases and reduced lung function in children and adults. Mechanistic evidence is also discussed to support that air pollutants impact various cellular and molecular targets at early life, which link to the pathogenesis and altered immune responses related to abnormal respiratory functions and lung diseases in later life.