What About The Environmental Impact Of Pollution On Childhood Asthma in Louisville?
by Steven Lippmann, MD & Naima Chowdhury, MBBS, MPH
While there is considerable focus on infectious diseases like COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus-induced bronchiolitis, some chronic respiratory conditions, like asthma, receive less attention. Asthma causes inflammation and narrowing of the bronchioles, worsened by factors like air pollution, living in old or crowded places and / or secondhand smoke exposure, etc. Although hospitalizations for children with asthma have declined, the numbers remain significant, averaging 6 per 10,000 among children up through age four and > 2 per 10,000 for those aged 5 – 17 years. 1
During the 2010 – 2011 and 2022 – 2023 influenza seasons, 70 % of kids aged 0 – 17 years hospitalized with flu had other health conditions, such as asthma, neurologic disorders, obesity and / or cardiovascular disease; 2 this data excluded the 2020-2021 COVID-19 season. Asthma also harms educational outcomes and school experiences. 2 Children aged 5 – 17 years with asthma missed almost 14 million school days during 2013. 3 In 2025, nearly five million U. S. children had asthma, with non-Hispanic Black children being twice as affected as compared to white peers. 4
There are six major environmental pollutants: fine particulate matter( PM, measured as up to 30 times smaller around than a human hair), ozone, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and lead. 5 Inhalation may cause respiratory distress, especially when the PM 2. 5 reaches the bloodstream by deep penetration into the lungs. Breathing rates increase due to exposure to these pollutants, leading to impaired organ development and asthma. 5
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