Air pollution affects the gut health of newborns, a study has found. Exposure to air pollution during the first six months of life can alter the gut microbiome, increasing the risk of allergies, obesity, diabetes, and even affecting brain development, according to a study by researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
A new study shows for the first time a link between the inhalation of pollutants from transportation, wildfire factories, and other sources, and changes in babies’ gut health. The team found similar results in a previous study of younger people. “This study shows that exposure to air pollution can alter the gut microbiome even in infants,” said Tanya Alderet, an integrative physiologist at the university.
At birth, the baby’s body has very few resident bacteria. Exposure to breast milk, solid foods, antibiotics and other environments during the first two to three years of life influences which microbial ecosystems are formed. The microbes and metabolites or byproducts produced when the gut breaks down food or chemicals affect body systems that shape appetite, insulin sensitivity, immunity, mood and cognition. While beneficial, some components of the microbiome have been linked to Crohn’s disease, asthma, type 2 diabetes and other chronic diseases.
“The microbiome plays a role in almost every physiological process in the body, and the gut environment that develops in the years following birth continues with us,” first author Maximilian Bailey explains.
promote inflammation
For this study, the research team collected fecal samples from 103 healthy Latino babies who were enrolled in the Southern California Breastfeeding Research Center and analyzed them using gene sequences. In addition, the exposure to ultrafine dust, fine dust, and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), which is mainly emitted from automobiles, was estimated using the air quality system data of the Environmental Protection Agency.
“Overall, exposure to ambient polluted air was associated with the profile of inflammatory gut microbiota,” said Professor Alderett.
For example, babies most exposed to particulate matter had 60 percent less Pascoloctobacterium, a beneficial bacterium known to reduce inflammation and support gut health and nerve development. Babies most exposed to fine dust had 85% more diallister, a microorganism associated with inflammation.
marginalized communities at higher risk
Babies are particularly vulnerable to the health risks posed by air pollution because they breathe faster and their gut microbiome is just taking shape.
Low-income communities close to congested highways or factories are at even greater risk. A 2018 US Environmental Protection Agency study found that people of color were exposed to 1.5 times more air pollutants than people of color. That is why we need a policy to keep schools and affordable housing projects away from pollution sources.
Meanwhile, Professor Alderett recommended the following measures to all people to reduce their exposure to indoor and outdoor pollutants:
-Do not walk outdoors in high-traffic areas.
– Consider a low-cost air purification system for rooms where children spend a lot of time.
– Leave the window open when cooking.
– Breastfeed for as long as possible. Breast milk can help build a healthy microbiome and counteract the adverse effects of environmental exposure.
The study was published in the journal Gut Microbios. The original title is ‘Postnatal exposure to ambient air pollutants is associated with the composition of the infant gut microbiota at 6-months of age’.
Reporter Lee Bo-hyun [email protected]
ⓒ ‘Honest knowledge for health’ Comedy.com (https://kormedi.com) / Unauthorized reproduction-redistribution prohibited
