Mothers living in conditions of atmospheric pollution, are much more likely to give birth to children with low weight. So, Irish Health, referring to the results of research by American scientists, reports that air pollution is the cause of low body weight in newborns.
A study conducted at the University of California, has become the largest research of its kind. It included data for more than 3 million children worldwide. Scientists have discovered the following pattern: in places with the highest level of pollution, the birth rate of infants with low (below 1 kilogram) body weight was the highest. And low birth weight is associated with an increased risk of death and serious health problems later in life.
Air pollution caused by microscopic particles. Their concentration depends, in particular, on emissions from cars and some power plants. Lead researcher Tracy Woodruff says that everywhere in the world the level of pollution with these particles exceeds the safe one.
In different countries, there are regulations that determine the safe level of pollution. For example, in the USA it is 12 micrograms per cubic meter. In the EU, the norm is 25 micrograms, but at present the question of revising this figure is downward. While in Beijing, as shown by recent measurements, the level of contamination is 700 micrograms.
