Born in smog: the short- and long-run health consequences of acute air pollution exposure in historical London, 1892-1919

There is strong evidence that exposure to atmospheric pollution is detrimental to health. However, most current and historical research has focussed on the shortrun consequences of exposure to pollution on health, and historical researchers have not been able to assess the effects of pollution on a wide range of health indicators. This paper uses fog events at a daily level as a proxy for acute extreme pollution events in historical London (1892-1919). It tests whether exposure to fog at birth and at the time of sickness influenced a wide range of indicators of child health in the short and long term, including birth outcomes (birth weight, length, stillbirth, premature birth and neonatal death), mortality risk (mortality before age 15), growth outcomes (heights and weights in infancy, childhood and adolescence), and morbidity outcomes (incidence, prevalence and sickness duration from respiratory diseases and measles). Being born on a fog day did not have strong effects on birth or growth outcomes or on morbidity outcomes for upper respiratory diseases. However, being born on a fog day increased mortality risk from respiratory diseases and increased incidence, prevalence and sickness duration from measles, influenza and other lower respiratory diseases. I also find short-run effects of fog on sickness duration from influenza and measles. Overall, the mixed results suggest that atmospheric pollution caused significant ill health in historical London but only for limited dimensions of health.