ECHO Air Quality
Air Quality
The ECHO Program’s uniquely diverse, nationwide research network includes more than 64,000 children and families. It allows researchers to investigate how air quality—both indoors and outdoors—can influence children’s health and development from pregnancy through adolescence.
Resources
Visit these sites to learn more about air pollution exposure.
QUESTIONS
For more information, please email the NIH at NIHKidsandEnvironment@od.nih.gov.
For media inquiries or to request an interview, contact Rebekah Yeager at rebekah.yeager@nih.gov.
Air quality plays an important role in children’s health and development. Outdoor factors like green space and ambient air pollution, along with indoor conditions such as home air quality, dampness, and early-life exposure to pets, can affect breathing, brain development, pregnancy and birth outcomes, and behavior. ECHO researchers examine how exposures, including wildfire smoke, secondhand smoke, and pollution from vehicles and industrial sources, work together with home and outdoor environments to influence children’s health.
What We're Learning
The ECHO Program has published more than 2,200 articles about the results of its research, covering a wide range of topics. Many of these studies have focused on exposure to air pollution during pregnancy and early childhood.
Here are some research highlights:
Exposure to PM2.5 Air Pollution During Pregnancy Associated with Lower Birthweight, ECHO Study Finds
February 6, 2026
Exposure to higher levels of PM2.5 air pollution during the first weeks of pregnancy is associated with lower birth weight and an increased risk of infants being born small for gestational age.
Higher Early-Life PM2.5 Linked to Higher Childhood Blood Pressure, While Prenatal NO2 Exposure Associated with Lower Blood Pressure, ECHO Study Finds
December 23, 2025
Children exposed to higher levels of certain air pollutants around birth had small differences in blood pressure later in childhood, with early pregnancy emerging as a particularly sensitive period.
Exposure to Fine Particulate Air Pollution in Early Pregnancy Linked to Lower Birth Weight, ECHO Study Finds
December 1, 2025
Exposure to fine particulate air pollution during the first five weeks of pregnancy is associated with lower birth weight.
Wildfire Smoke Exposure May Be Linked to Higher Risk of Preterm Birth, ECHO Study Finds
November 3, 2025
Nearly all pregnant participants were exposed to wildfire smoke, and higher exposure—especially during mid-to-late pregnancy—was linked to a slightly increased risk of preterm birth, particularly in the Western U.S.
The BREATHE Study: Bronchiolitis Recovery and Use of HEPA Filters
October 27, 2025
This clinical trial tested the use of HEPA filters in homes and found lower indoor air pollution and somewhat fewer breathing problems and unscheduled doctor visits among babies.
ECHO Study Observes Health Disparities in Air Pollution-associated Risk of Childhood Asthma
August 1, 2025
Higher exposure to fine particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, and ground-level ozone was linked to a higher risk of asthma in children’s first 10 years, with certain communities facing greater risk.