Every day, thousands of babies are born in cities where the air contains elevated levels of invisible pollutants. A recent international study presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies meeting in 2026 warns that simply breathing in these environments may significantly increase the risk of respiratory infections during the first year of life.
The research, led by the Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù in collaboration with the Precision Vaccines Program at Boston Children’s Hospital, focused on infants residing in Rome. Scientists conducted clinical evaluations at 2, 5, 9, and 12 months of age, supplemented by telephone follow-ups to track respiratory infection episodes and wheezing diagnosed by healthcare professionals.
Data from the IDEaL Rome cohort, funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH/NIAID), display a direct association between exposure to ambient air pollution and the burden of respiratory disease in infants. The first months of life — a critical period for immune system development — were found to be especially sensitive to the effects of airborne particles and gases in urban environments.
According to Donato Amodio, adjunct professor at Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù and lead author of the study, “The air that babies breathe during their first year of life does not only affect their lungs. It could fundamentally influence their immune response capacity.”
The study linked residential postal codes of each infant to the nearest air quality monitoring stations to assess exposure levels. Researchers emphasized that early-life exposure to pollutants such as fine particulate matter (PM2.5), nitrogen oxides, and ozone may impair lung development and increase susceptibility to infections, with potential long-term consequences for respiratory health.
These findings align with broader global concerns about air quality and child health. The World Health Organization reports that over 93% of children worldwide live in environments where air pollution exceeds recommended guidelines, and environmental risks contribute to more than one in four deaths among children under five.
Respiratory infections linked to both ambient and household air pollution were responsible for 543,000 deaths in children under five in 2016, according to WHO data — underscoring the preventable nature of many of these outcomes through cleaner air interventions.
