According to a study in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine, the incidence of childhood asthma rose by around 2 - 3 percent for every indoor swimming pool per 100,000 of the population. The researchers involved say that this indicates a strong association between asthma and the chemicals used in swimming pools. As well as asthma, the researchers also looked at wheezing, hay fever, allergic rhinitis and eczema. The study involved almost 190,000 young teenagers (13 and 14 year olds) from 21 countries across Europe. The figures were then examined in the context of the number of indoor chlorinated swimming pools per 100,000 of the population in each of the countries.
As one would expect, the number of indoor pools varied by a factor of 20 between Eastern and Western Europe. And the findings showed a clear East-West divide when comparing indoor pool availability and rates of asthma. The rate of wheezing rose by 3 percent for every additional indoor chlorinated swimming pool. Similarly, the rate of asthma rose by 3 percent.
The researchers believe that the rise of asthma in Western Europe could at least partly be attributed to the increasing exposure of children to the by-products of chlorine in the air and water of indoor swimming pools.
They recommend that the long term effects of chlorine by-products on children's respiratory health should be thoroughly evaluated, and that pools should be properly ventilated and levels of chlorine by-products regulated.
Source: Occupational and Environmental Medicine
