Antioxidant-rich diet reduces the risk of acute respiratory infections and air pollution-related anemia in children: Study

A new study highlights the importance of a balanced diet rich in antioxidants on neutralizing the adverse health effects of air pollution in Indian children under five years of age. The study was published on May 9 at the Public Health Frontier.

Particulate matter with air pollution (2.5 microns in diameter or less – pm2.5 may cause acute respiratory disease (ARI) and anemia in children. A team of researchers at St. John’s College of Medicine in Bangalore, New Delhi and a team of researchers at Sitalam Bhatia Institute of Science and Technology investigated whether nutritional intake of antioxidants can mitigate the effects of PM2.5 on children’s health outcomes in India.

The researchers studied 2,08,782 children with effective ARI and 1,97,289 children with effective hemoglobin measurements. The prevalence of ARI and anemia was 2.8% and 57.6%, respectively. Acute respiratory infections and anemia are major factors in the incidence and mortality of children worldwide. Children are very susceptible to these conditions due to their children’s development of immune system and higher metabolic needs.

Environmental and household air pollution

Anura Kurpad, professor of physiology and nutrition at St. John’s Medical College, said emerging evidence highlights environmental and household air pollution, especially fine particulate matter, as a key environmental risk factor for children’s ARI and anemia. “According to the 2023 World Health Statistics, ARI is the leading cause of childhood mortality in all infectious diseases. Exposure to PM2.5 has also been shown to increase the risk of anemia in children,” said Professor Kurpad, one of the authors.

The researchers presented satellite-derived PM2.5 exposure data at the primary sampling unit level, including ARI and anemia prevalence data from national and regional surveys, as well as antioxidant nutrition intake from household food expenditure surveys. Logistic mixed-effect regression model was used to estimate the effect of PM2.5 at different levels of nutrient intake.

The study found that intake of certain antioxidant nutrients (such as vitamins A, C, and D) as well as minerals such as zinc and selenium reduces the risk of ARI associated with high PM 2.5 exposure. Higher intake of these nutrients may reduce the risk of anemia.

Professor Kulpad said: “Similar benefits are observed in consuming small amounts of fruit and vegetables every day. This highlights the potential to increase dietary diversity through more fruit and vegetable intake, thereby reducing the adversity of children’s air pollution.”

Qualitative Evidence

The researchers concluded that the findings of this study should be viewed as qualitative evidence of antioxidants and food-rich antioxidants and health associations.

“These results highlight the potential of dietary strategies in mitigating the adverse effects of air pollution. However, now, the evidence needs to be validated by community-based invention research or randomized controlled trials with selected antioxidants. Although long-term solutions must focus on the root causes of air pollution, in which case such structural changes can take time, especially in such cases, especially in such cases, especially in food such as frefrue – affluent approach – food – affluent. A feasible and complementary pathway to protect vulnerable groups,” the study said.