Children’s exposure to air pollution is linked to a higher risk of metabolic syndrome, a condition considered a strong early warning sign for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease later in life. The finding comes from a large European cohort study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), published in the journal Environmental Research.
Most previous research focused mainly on air pollution’s effects on the respiratory system. This study shows the impact also extends to metabolic and cardiovascular health starting in childhood.
What metabolic syndrome is
Metabolic syndrome isn’t a single disease but a cluster of risk factors that tend to appear together:
- abdominal obesity
- elevated blood pressure
- blood sugar irregularities
- dyslipidemia (abnormal cholesterol and triglyceride levels).
Having these factors together significantly raises the risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease in adulthood.
Children are more vulnerable
Researchers note children are an especially vulnerable group: their lungs, organs, and immune systems are still developing, they breathe a larger volume of air relative to body weight, and they spend more time outdoors. The study found that exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), both at home and at school, was linked to higher metabolic syndrome risk.
Data from six European countries
Researchers analyzed data from 1,147 children ages 6 to 11 in France, Greece, Lithuania, Norway, Spain, and the UK, tracked from 2013 to 2016 as part of the European HELIX research program. Using pollution-exposure modeling, they calculated each child’s annual exposure to the two pollutants, accounting for home, school, and daily commuting.
Higher risk at school
One of the study’s more notable findings is that the link between air pollution and metabolic syndrome risk was stronger in the school environment than at home. Researchers suggest this may be because children are more physically active during school hours, breathing faster and thus inhaling more pollutants, which could amplify the harmful effects.
ISGlobal’s Martine Vrijheid, who heads the Environment and Health over the Lifecourse program, said the findings carry particular weight given how widely the population is exposed to air pollution. She noted the long-term health consequences of metabolic syndrome make public health measures to reduce children’s pollution exposure necessary, especially in places like schools where they spend much of their day.
