PRESS RELEASE : Shocking inequality in children with asthma admitted to hospital in London [November 2022]

The press release issued by the Mayor of London on 17 November 2022.

• 3,645 children and young people admitted to hospital with asthma in London in 2021/22
• Shocking inequality laid bare as half of all children and young people admitted to hospital are from minority ethnic backgrounds, compared with 28 per cent white children
• Continued delivery of the Mayor’s air quality policies and wider improvement in air pollution will increase the average life expectancy of a child born in London in 2013 by around six monthsMore than 3,600 children were admitted to hospital with asthma in London in 2021/22 [1] – a sharp increase of 64 per cent on the previous year when COVID and lower than usual pollution levels resulted in fewer admissions, new City Hall analysis has revealed.

Toxic air caused by traffic can lead to children growing up with stunted lungs and developing health problems such as asthma. Analysis of London’s asthma data published by the Mayor shows that in June this year, the most recent month for which data is available, 229 children and young people in London were admitted to hospital with asthma [1].

Around half of hospital admissions for asthma occur in children from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds, compared to 28 per cent of white children [3]. 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. [4]

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, which is seven per cent of all asthma admissions in children in London [5].  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 [6].

Understanding of the insidious link between air pollution and asthma continues to improve, including through the work of campaigners like Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah. Rosamund’s nine-year old daughter, Ella, was the first person in the UK to have air pollution as a cause of death on her death certificate. In the weeks leading up to her death, Ella had several severe asthma attacks requiring hospitalisation, which were subsequently linked to peaks in pollution on the South Circular Road.

All schools and colleges in outer London are in areas which still exceed revised recommended air quality targets set by the World Health Organization.

Since 2016 Sadiq has made it a key priority to improve air quality and minimise the negative effects on Londoners, through schemes like School Streets, through the installation of Breathe London sensors, and through the implementation of his world-leading Ultra Low Emission Zone.

With the continued implementation of the Mayor’s air quality policies and wider improvement in air pollution, the average life expectancy of a child born in London in 2013 will increase by around six months. [7] This is why the Mayor consulted to expand the Ultra-low Emission Zone London-wide, which could significantly improve air quality for a further 5 million Londoners, including children.

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.

I am determined to clean up London’s filthy air, to protect the health of every child in London but also to ensure the future of their city in tackling the effects of climate change. This is why I consulted on expanding the Ultra Low Emission Zone. This would mean five million more people breathing cleaner air, and would help to build a better, greener, fairer London for everyone.

Sarah Woolnough, CEO of Asthma + Lung UK said:

“No child should be hospitalised because the air they breathe has left them fighting for breath. This analysis is yet further evidence of the desperate need for local, and national governments to take decisive action on cleaning up our toxic air. It should not be a privilege to breathe cleaner air. But the sad reality is that toxic air is a common trigger for potentially life-threatening asthma attacks with more than half of people that we recently surveyed telling us that air pollution makes their symptoms worse.

“We know that air pollution hits the poorest communities’ lungs the hardest, as they are more likely to live on some of our most polluted roads. The plans to expand the ULEZ across Greater London will help protect the lives and lungs of children who live, learn and play in the city, and will deliver cleaner air to the almost 350,000 people who are living with a lung condition outside the area currently benefiting from the ULEZ. Alongside the ULEZ, we need to see improvements to walking, cycling and public transport infrastructure in outer London boroughs so people have the confidence to stop using their cars. If we’re going to stop another generation of Londoners growing up breathing in potentially lethal levels of air pollution, then we need to see much more action being taken.”

Ruth Harris, Mums for Lungs said: “My son is one of the thousands upon thousands of London kids that have asthma. One in ten 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.”