Appolonia Adeyemi 
Swedish researchers have found that earlylife events, such as the exposure to air pollutants could increase the risk of chronic lung disease in young adulthood.
The findings of the researchers at the Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, is publishedinthe‘ EuropeanRespiratory Journal and Thorax’. The studies added to the growing evidence that chronic lung disease in adulthood can be traced back to childhood, the ‘Science Daily’ reported.
Similarly, it emphasised the importance of early-life events for maintaining lung health during adulthood. According to the researchers, the take home-message is: “If you want to prevent disease, early prevention is the key to success.”
Chronic bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), with the hallmark features phlegm and irreversible airflow limitation, respectively, are lung diseases known to affect adults with a history of long-term smoking.
Senior study author, Erik Melen, said: “To our surprise, we found the prevalence of chronic bronchitis and irreversible airflow limitation to be rather high (5.5 per cent and 2.0 per cent, respectively), considering the young age of the study participants.”
Melen is a professor and paediatrician at the Department of Clinical Science and Education, Karolinska Institutet, Sodersjukhuset, Stockholm in Sweden. Co-author of the study, Anders Linden, who is a professor and pulmonologist at the Institute of Environmental Medicine, disclosed: “Those diseases are usually diagnosed in patients older than 50 years of age.”
