Air pollution in south London linked to ‘huge’ rise in child asthma GP visits in Kings College study

The Kings College study was conducted over five years

(Picture: PA)

A spike in the number of children visiting the GP with asthma problems took place after a week of increased air pollution, new research has found.

The study, conducted in south London over a five-year period, also found a significant increase in the number of inhaler prescriptions for people of all ages.

Researchers from Kings College analysed more than 750,000 respiratory consultations at GPs and inhaler prescriptions.

They found that when particle pollution was raised by 9 µg/m3 for a week in Lambeth, the number of child consultations for asthma and respiratory infections went up by 7.5 per cent, reported the Guardian.

For nitrogen dioxide pollution, the average level was 51µg/m3, and a rise of 22µg/m3 was linked with consultations rising by 6 per cent.

Mark Ashworth, the report’s lead researcher, said: “These are huge increases.”

Speaking to the Guardian, he added: “We’d expected much smaller associations. This is a very large shift of the dial and has never been shown before.”

Children are already among the most frequent visitors to GPs and respiratory problems are one of the most common reasons for consultations, he told the paper, so these percentage rises mean a large number of extra visits.

Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah

These figures, however, could be an underestimate because the GP data was only available from Monday to Friday and during surgery hours.

This meant visits at the weekends or in the evenings were not included in the data.

“We all have in our minds the case of Ella Kissi-Debrah,” Mr Ashworth said. “If only we’d had this evidence then,” he added.

A landmark ruling by a coroner in December found that air pollution was a cause of death of the nine-year-old girl in south London in 2013.

The schoolgirl, who lived near a busy South Circular road in Lewisham , was an active and healthy baby, according to her mother.

But in the three years before her death she suffered multiple seizures, went to hospital 27 times and seen by consultants at six hospitals.

She had tests for epilepsy, but doctors eventually concluded her condition was purely respiratory.

In February 2013 Ella was rushed to hospital but died from a fatal asthma attack.