Researchers have found that the Great Smog of 1952 led to increased rates of childhood asthma, in addition to increasing the likelihood of developing adult asthma later in life.
The study, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, sought to determine whether exposure to extreme air pollution in utero or soon after birth affects asthma development.
Researchers compared data from 2,916 people who were exposed to the Great Smog either in infancy or while in the womb, to those who were born during the years 1945–1955 and lived outside of London, or those who lived in London but were not exposed to smog early in life.
The results showed there was a 19.8% increase in the likelihood of developing childhood asthma among those exposed to smog in the first year of life, with a further 7.9% increase of developing adult asthma amongst the same group.