Project: CHILL

CHILL (Children’s Health in London and Luton)

Air pollution has been shown to stunt children’s lung growth and increase amount of asthma attacks. London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) is designed to reduce air pollution caused by traffic in central London.

Children’s Health in London and Luton (CHILL) aims to independently evaluate whether the Ultra Low Emission zone is effective at reducing air pollution in London and therefore improving children’s Health.

Effects of Pollution on Children’s Health

A schoolgirl blowing into a machine which is measuring her lung capacity

CHILL is a research study which aims to find out whether reducing air pollution from traffic is good for children’s health. We are particularly interested in whether interventions to reduce air pollution can improve children’s lung growth and respiratory symptoms, activity levels and brain function. We are also interested in whether exposure to air pollution in childhood leaves markers on genes that reflect pollution levels over time.

Image of a schoolgirl using a spirometer

We have recruited over 3,416 primary school pupils across London, Luton and Dunstable to take part. These children will be assessed once a year for up to four years.

What we’ll do

We’ll have science workshops in schools run by Centre of the Cell from Bart’s Medical School in London teaching children about:

Air pollution
How to measure it
How it affects our bodies

We’ll carry out health checks to assess the children’s:

Weight
Height
Lung function

We’ll monitor the children for up to a week to record their:

Activity levels
Routes to and from school

We ask the children’s parents or guardians to complete an annual questionnaire that provides information about respiratory symptoms and air pollution exposure. Over the following three years, the health check will be repeated once a year to see how the children’s lungs are growing. At the end of the study the parents or guardians will be asked if they want to share the children’s GP records for information about appointments for coughs and colds. Results of the study will help towns and cities across the UK and the world cut pollution and make sure children have healthy lungs.

Watch a BBC News video on the CHILL study

Visit the CHILL study website

Update

CHILL is now in its third year.
We have visited most of the 85 schools twice. After taking a pause due to the pandemic we will start our third year testing in January 2021.
So far we have presented our science workshops to more than 15,000 children. We are currently designing our new workshop that will discuss how air pollution impacts the way we think.

Key People

Chris Griffiths

Centre Director

Lead: Preventing asthma attacks

Based at: Queen Mary University London

Chris' profile