According to estimates by the European Environment Agency (EEA), over 90% of the urban population is exposed to levels of fine particulate matter above the limits recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). The category of children is particularly susceptible to the harmful effects of the urban exposome, i.e. the set of environmental factors to which those who live in cities are exposed throughout their lives. These factors, combined with social, behavioral and biological variables, can have a significant impact on health. The high respiratory rate and physiological immaturity of developing organs make newborns more vulnerable to pollutants than adults. Likewise, the immaturity of thermoregulation mechanisms makes them particularly sensitive to extreme temperatures, one of the consequences of climate change.
Every week in Europe and Central Asia over 90 children under one year of age die from causes related to air pollution (UNICEF data). In 2021, 377 children died in Europe and Central Asia from causes related to heat stress. High temperatures, combined with pollution, aggravate chronic respiratory diseases and increase the number of hospital admissions. UNICEF recommends that every child, regardless of the area of the city in which they live, has access to a safe and welcoming public green space within easy walking distance. A recent study by Spanish researchers has developed a new guideline, known as the “3-30-300” rule, according to which every person should be able to see at least 3 trees from their home, live in a neighborhood with tree cover by 30% and have access to quality green space within 300 metres. Designing sustainable cities requires active cooperation between governments, institutions and citizens, investing in environmental solutions that reduce pollution, mitigate climate change, increase green spaces and protect public health.
Exposure to pollution can begin already in utero, with potentially serious consequences in both the short term and long term. Some of the effects include stillbirth, prematurity, low birth weight, reduced breastfeeding, pulmonary, cardiovascular and neurological diseases, up to an increased risk of cerebral palsy. Early and persistent exposure to noise pollution can have a significant impact on the neurological development of children, contributing to learning problems, concentration difficulties, behavioral disorders and sleep-wake rhythm disorders.
“Prenatal exposure to air pollution results in persistent health loss even at low concentration levels and often takes years to fully manifest,” says Dr. Luigi Orfeo, President of the Italian Society of Neonatology (SIN) “To be born and grow healthy, concrete and shared interventions are necessary, capable of guaranteeing more sustainable cities and environments less exposed to polluting and harmful agents, as also indicated in the Objective of Sustainable Development, promoted by the United Nations 2030 Agenda”.
“There is no more time to waste”, continues Prof. Fabio Mosca, President of the SIN-Safe Commission. “For this reason, together with 35 other Scientific Societies and Associations in the pediatric area, of which the Italian Society of Paediatrics (SIP) is the leader, in September of this year, with the AMBO project, Alliance for a Child-Friendly Environment, we have made a commitment to our newborns and their families: to collaborate to guarantee them a better, more sustainable and safer future for their health”.
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