Airthings partners with Long Love initiative delivering air quality support to premature infants

OSLO, NORWAY & ROTTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS - (November 17, 2022) - Airthings, the global leader in air quality monitoring for businesses, schools and homes, has partnered with the Long Love research project in The Netherlands to highlight the importance of good indoor air quality for premature infants.

November 17th marks world prematurity day, a day on which we raise awareness of the challenges and concerns associated with preterm birth. According to the World Health Organization, approximately 15 million babies are born prematurely each year, accounting for about 1 in 10 of all babies born worldwide¹. Despite advancements in medical technology and procedures, preterm babies continue to carry an increased vulnerability for different health problems later in life. They have a greater risk for hospitalization due to respiratory disease during the first years of life, are more likely to develop asthma at school age, and have a greater chance of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by the time they reach adulthood^2,3,4.

While prematurity itself is an important risk factor for these respiratory diseases, several environmental factors are known to affect lung development and respiratory complaints. Recent research has shown that preterm babies are more susceptible to the negative effects of air pollution exposure.⁵ As babies spend a large amount of time indoors during the first years of life, it’s even more important to monitor the air inside, as indoor air quality may regularly be 2-5 times worse than outside air.⁶

“We’re honored to team up with Long Love to further explore how we can improve respiratory health and development in preterm infants,” said Oyvind Birkenes, CEO of Airthings. “Air quality can play a pivotal role in so many areas of health and wellness, posing an added layer of danger to those whose lungs are especially vulnerable. We’re excited to help establish a stronger understanding of how indoor air pollution affects preterm babies so that we can make a positive impact on their lives and share these findings with the world.”

Airthings is partnering with the Long Love initiative to support their research on the effects of indoor air pollution on respiratory health in this vulnerable population. All participants of the study will receive an Airthings air quality monitor for the duration of one year, supplied by Airthings’ partner IoT City Business in the Netherlands. Measuring indoor air quality empowers parents and healthcare professionals to optimize the air they breathe and may promote healthy lung development, reducing the chance of life-long respiratory disease in preterm babies.

About Airthings

Airthings is a global technology company and producer of award-winning radon and indoor air quality monitors for homeowners, businesses, and professionals. Founded in 2008, Airthings is on a mission to ensure that people around the world recognize the impact of indoor air quality and take control of their health through simple, affordable, and accurate technology solutions while optimizing energy consumption in buildings. Airthings’ products have made radon detection and indoor air quality monitoring easy to deploy, accurate, and user friendly, and have received several accolades including the TIME Best Inventions Award and CES Innovation Award Honors. Headquartered in the heart of Oslo, Norway, and with offices in the US and Sweden the company has over 130 employees from more than 30 nationalities—and counting. To see the full range of Airthings indoor air quality monitors and radon detectors or to learn more about the importance of continuous air quality monitoring, please visit airthings.com.

About Long Love

The Long Love study aims to improve respiratory health and development in moderate-late preterm infants (born at a gestational age of 30+0 to 35+6 weeks). As these children are especially vulnerable, current follow-up regiments after preterm birth may not be sufficient. The Long Love framework consists of an unique multidisciplinary and digital follow-up framework (eHealth & remote monitoring) tailored to identify and treat modifiable influencing factors which may negatively affect respiratory health. The study is carried out in the Greater Rijnmond region (Rotterdam), The Netherlands. More info can be found on: https://www.longlovestudie.nl/ (Dutch)

Sources:

1. World Health Organization. (2018, February 19th). "Preterm Birth" Retrieved from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/preterm-birth
2. Moreno-Galdó A, Pérez-Yarza EG, Ramilo O, Rubí T, Escribano A, Torres A, Sardón O, Oliva C, Pérez G, Cortell I, Rovira-Amigo S, Pastor-Vivero MD, Pérez-Frías J, Velasco V, Torres J, Figuerola J, Barrio MI, García-Hernández G, Mejías A; SAREPREM 3235 investigators. Recurrent wheezing during the first 3 years of life in a birth cohort of moderate-to-late preterm infants. Pediatr Allergy Immunol. 2020 Feb;31(2):124-132.
3. Been JV, Lugtenberg MJ, Smets E, van Schayck CP, Kramer BW, Mommers M, Sheikh A. Preterm birth and childhood wheezing disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS Med. 2014 Jan 28;11(1):e1001596
4. Bush A. COPD: a pediatric disease. COPD. 2008 Feb;5(1):53-67.
5. Decrue F, Gorlanova O, Salem Y, Vienneau D, de Hoogh K, Gisler A, Usemann J, Korten I, Nahum U, Sinues P, Schulzke S, Fuchs O, Latzin P, Röösli M, Frey U; BILD study group. Increased Impact of Air Pollution on Lung Function in Preterm versus Term Infants: The BILD Study. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2022 Jan 1;205(1):99-107
6. Wallace, Lance A., et al. Total Exposure Assessment Methodology (TEAM) Study: Personal exposures, indoor-outdoor relationships, and breath levels of volatile organic compounds in New Jersey. Environ. Int. 1986, 12, 369-387.