August 14, 2018

expert reaction to review paper looking at air pollution exposure of babies in prams

A literature review published in the journal Environment International looked at previously-published studies on levels of exposure to air pollution of babies in prams.

Dr Stefan Reis, Head of Atmospheric Chemistry and Effects, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH), said:

“This paper is based on a thorough review of previously-published studies.  The paper makes a compelling case for the integrated assessment of both the sources of air pollutant emissions, and local, individual and behavioural factors contributing to exposure in order to design interventions.

“Effective reduction of exposure to harmful levels of air pollution, in particular for children and other vulnerable groups, needs to be based on robust experimental evidence – this literature review does not present any new results, but highlights established general concerns about air pollution exposure, and will help focus future research in this direction.”

* ‘A review of factors surrounding the air pollution exposure to in-pram babies and mitigation strategies’ by Ashish Sharma and Prashant Kumar was published in Environment International on Tuesday 14 August 2018. 

Declared interests

Dr Stefan Reis: “I do not have any conflict of interest or involvement in this study or related work.”