Pollution likely to affect children's resistance to allergy

Children living in big cities such as Delhi, are likely to grow susceptible to allergic ailments, more than adults, due to urban pollution, especially air, health experts said.

"Infants and children living in metro cities are inhaling polluted air and therefore their resistance power to allergic ailments are lowered at a very young age, making them more susceptible to contract various allergies when they grow up, compared to adults, Director (Acting) of the Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute (VPCI), S N Gaur, told PTI.

According to Gaur, between 20-30 per cent of the population in the country suffers from some form of allergic ailments.

Studies suggest that the prevalence of asthma has been on the rise in developing countries in the past one decade. Also, studies from several centres have reported that the prevalence of asthma in children in India ranged from 2.3-11.9 per cent, while in adults it ranged from 0.96-11.03 per cent," according to VPCI.

The city-based institute has organised a four-day national conference, hosted by Indian College of Allergy, Asthma & Applied Immunology (ICAAI), to discus the clinical and laboratory aspects of allergy, asthma and immunology.The event is specially aimed towards analysing the impact of the number of offending agents like air pollution, allergens and change in lifestyle in India and South Asia.

According to experts, it is estimated that over 20 per cent of the



world's population suffers from allergic diseases such as allergic asthma, allergic rhinitis and allergic conjunctivitis, atopic eczema and anaphylaxis.

Asthma is a worldwide problem, with estimated 300 million affected individuals and global prevalence which ranges from 1-18 per cent in different geographical regions.

"The most common allergic ailment, in my career as a doctor, I have diagnosed is allergic rhinitis," Union minister Harsh Vardhan said, at the inauguration of the conference last evening.

Air pollution is killing nearly eight lakh people annually in the South East Asian Region with India alone accounting for over 75 per cent of the casualties caused by cardiovascular diseases and lung cancer, according to WHO.

According to a recent WHO report, a few Indian cities, including Delhi, Patna and Gwalior were identified as among the severely polluted cities in the world. Experts say global warming and pollution are among the major factors responsible for causing allergic ailments.

Jaspal Singh Sandhu, Secretary UGC and a doctor himself, said, "Given Delhi's air condition, rising allergy cases are not surprising. In the city, if you ask me, one of the places having the purest air is JNU campus. Allergy incidences have been on the rise, and they should not be ignored."

Food habits and smoking, both direct and passive, are also among the factors leading to allergic reactions.