‘Unacceptable’ inequality in children suffering with asthma
About half of hospital admissions for children with asthma are from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, new City Hall analysis has revealed.
More than 3,600 children were admitted to hospital with asthma in London in 2021/22 – a sharp increase of 64 per cent on the previous year, when Covid and lower than usual pollution levels resulted in fewer admissions.
Toxic air caused by traffic can lead to children growing up with stunted lungs and developing health problems such as asthma.
The most recent analysis available shows this fits the overall trend seen in air pollution exposure in London, where annual concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) are on average between 16 and 27 per cent higher in areas where black, Asian and minority ethnic Londoners were most likely to live.
Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said: “It’s unacceptable that any children are suffering health problems due to London’s toxic air, but that some children are being vastly worse affected than others is even more of an injustice.”
Previous City Hall-commissioned work estimated that worsening of asthma by air pollution led to around 700 asthma admissions from 2017 – 2019 in children under 15 years in London.
It has also shown that the poorest Londoners and those from ethnic minority backgrounds are worst affected by toxic air, but also least likely to own a car.
Ruth Harris, from campaign group Mums for Lungs, said: “My son is one of the thousands upon thousands of London kids that have asthma.
“One in 10 kids in this city have asthma, that is a shameful number of children whose health is so badly impacted by filthy air with every breath that they take.
“This summer dirty air landed my little boy in hospital again, for the 13th time. It’s hard to describe how scary it is to see a child struggling for every breath.
“Making the air safe to breathe has got to be an urgent priority if we are to give children a chance at growing up happily and healthily in London.”
Pictured top: City Hall in Docklands (Picture: Matt Buck/Wikimedia Commons)
