ReviewCurrent allergy and asthma reports2026
The Modern Environment and Childhood Asthma: The Role of Air Pollution and Heavy Metal Exposure.
Review in Current allergy and asthma reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purpose of reviewChildhood asthma is the most common chronic non-communicable disease in children and a major global public health challenge. Although genetic predisposition contributes to asthma susceptibility, the high burden of disease-particularly in high-sociodemographic-index regions-points to a central role of environmental exposures characteristic of the modern environment. This review synthesizes current evidence linking ambient air pollution and heavy metal exposure to childhood asthma, with a focus on early-life vulnerability, underlying biological mechanisms, and implications for prevention. RECENT
findingsWe reviewed epidemiological, toxicological, and mechanistic studies published through November 2025, prioritizing systematic reviews and meta-analyses while integrating recent cohort studies, intervention trials, and experimental research. Epidemiological findings consistently demonstrate that prenatal and early-childhood exposure to particulate matter (PM₂.₅, PM₁₀), traffic-related air pollutants (e.g., NO₂, black carbon), and ozone is associated with increased asthma incidence, wheezing, reduced lung function, and higher rates of exacerbations and healthcare utilization. In contrast, evidence for metal-related exposures is more heterogeneous. Toxic metals and metalloids, transition metals in particulate matter, and essential trace-element status may contribute to asthma risk through biologically plausible pathways, but associations appear to depend on exposure timing, exposure source, biomarker type, co-exposures, and population context. Mechanistic studies reveal shared and interacting pathways involving oxidative stress, airway epithelial barrier disruption, immune dysregulation, epigenetic modifications, and microbiome alterations. The effects of these exposures are magnified during critical developmental windows and modified by genetic susceptibility and social determinants of health, contributing to marked environmental health inequities. Overall, childhood asthma is strongly shaped by early-life exposure to air pollution and heavy metals through interconnected biological and social pathways. Addressing these preventable environmental risks is essential for effective asthma prevention and for reducing global disparities.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.