Exposure to air pollution during the first 1000 days of life and subsequent health service and medication usage in children

Abstract

Background: Evidence of health effects following early life exposure to short-to-medium duration of high pollution levels is extremely limited. Objectives: We aimed to evaluate the associations between: 1. intrauterine exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from coal mine fire emissions and the frequencies of general practitioner attendances and dispensations of prescribed asthma inhalers, steroid skin creams, and antibiotics during the first year of life; 2. infant exposure and those outcomes during the year following the fire. Methods: All participants were recruited from the Latrobe Valley of Victoria, Australia. Participants’ 24-h average and hourly peak mine fire-specific PM2.5 exp..