This report is related to the ETC WP 2.1 Technical Proposal on assessing the impact of air and water pollution, environmental noise, chemicals and a changing climate in Europe on health and well-being. This report presents the results of a comprehensive review on the effects of indoor and outdoor air pollution on children and adolescents, with a separate assessment of intervention studies.

Children are particularly vulnerable to environmental factors, including indoor and outdoor air pollution. In order to present the latest knowledge on the impact of outdoor and indoor air pollution on children's health, review studies are conducted, followed by review studies. Intervention studies are therefore included as a special case of evidence generation, as they can directly point to solutions to improve the situation. The prioritization of topics among the many potential health risks and pollutants is based on the available evidence, the potential health impact at the population level, the potential individual health risks for exposed children, the feasibility of implementing interventions and the specificity of the topic for children in Europe. In the case of ambient air pollution, there is convincing evidence of an impact on mortality, respiratory endpoints such as the development of asthma, reduced lung function and development of lung function, and respiratory infections. Similarly, there is strong evidence for the development of asthma and severe asthma attacks in relation to exposure to second-hand smoke. Studies also provide strong evidence that children exposed to mould are at risk of multiple respiratory health outcomes, including the development of asthma, worsening of asthma, allergic rhinitis and wheezing. For many other outcomes, there is evidence of health effects, although causality remains uncertain. These health effects represent a significant burden of disease in Europe. Unfortunately, data on the effectiveness of interventions to reduce exposure levels and/or health risks in children are lacking. Therefore, there is an urgent need to better understand which interventions are most useful in preventing environmental health problems in European children. Future reports will address the health effects on children from other research areas, such as noise, climate change and chemicals.

Download report:  ETC HE Report 2022/22: Environmental health risks to children and adolescents: an umbrella review on indoor and outdoor air pollution — 5.87 MB