Cleaner air, growing lungs
Researchers followed lung-function growth across three Southern California cohorts totaling 2,120 children, from about age 11 to 15. Lower nitrogen dioxide and particulate pollution tracked with better lung growth.
The proportion with low FEV1 at 15 declined from 7.9% in the earliest cohort to 3.6% in the latest: a 4.3-percentage-point difference. These are different cohorts, not a randomized treatment comparison.
Our reading: repeated objective measurements strengthen the observation, but changes between cohorts can confound it. The study does not establish that buying an air purifier reproduces the result or extends lifespan.
We independently selected this older original study to examine the topic. This summary uses its abstract, not a full-text appraisal.
Source: New England Journal of Medicine (2015).
https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa1414123
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25738666/
Educational, not medical advice.
