This article was first covered by the Guardian: Alarm over hospital lung admissions for children in England’s poorest postcodes.
Children living in England’s most deprived areas are being admitted to hospital with respiratory infections at significantly higher rates than those living in the least deprived areas, according to our analysis of NHS England data obtained through Freedom of Information requests.
That disparity is worsened by air pollution, which doesn’t affect everyone equally. Lower-income areas consistently experience higher levels of pollution than wealthier ones, and the communities living with that pollution carry a disproportionate burden of ill health as a result.
At Impact on Urban Health, we see this as a social justice issue: those most exposed to air pollution often have the least power to change their situation. New analysis we have carried out puts numbers to that inequity for children’s respiratory health across England.
We submitted FOI requests to NHS England to obtain Hospital Episode Statistics data covering hospital admissions among under-18s where the primary diagnosis related to acute upper respiratory infections, influenza, pneumonia, or acute lower respiratory infections. The poorest areas saw a total of 82% more hospital admissions for respiratory infections in absolute terms, equivalent to around 41% (40.65%) higher rates when adjusted for population size.
In 2024/25, children in the most deprived areas recorded 56,842 hospital admissions, which is the highest of any deprivation group, and around 82% higher than the 31,155 admissions recorded among children in the least deprived areas over the same period.
This is not a one-year anomaly. Admissions among children in the most deprived areas have remained consistently elevated following a sharp rise after 2020/21 and the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic:
The most recent data is only partial, covering April 2025 – February 2026, but already shows 40,897 admissions among children in the most deprived areas, suggesting the pattern is continuing.
Air pollution is the UK’s biggest environmental threat to health, estimated to contribute to up to 43,000 deaths each year, with an economic cost of more than £27 billion annually.
The FOI data does not identify the causes behind the admissions gap. But the relationship between deprivation, air pollution, and respiratory disease is well established. While air pollution affects everyone, it falls hardest on children, people from racially minoritised communities, and those living in lower-income neighbourhoods. That’s why we take an equitable approach to improving air quality, including via our Amplifying Voices strand, which supports communities who are most affected by air pollution to advocate for change.
These findings add to a growing body of evidence that the burden of respiratory illness in children is not evenly distributed. We are calling on the Government to develop a new Clean Air Act and adopt targets aligned with WHO air quality guidelines, so that no child’s health is determined by the air quality of the postcode they happen to be born into.
Health effects of air pollution
This year, the Environmental Audit Committee is examining air quality. We partnered with Green Alliance to take the committee out of Westminster and into South London to meet the people who live with air pollution every day.
Health effects of air pollution
Use our data visualisation to see air quality levels across London, including in each borough, and how air quality compares to legal limits and WHO guidelines.
Health effects of air pollution
Air pollution can affect children’s organ development from pregnancy through to early adolescence, with children living near busy roads four times more likely than adults to have reduced lung function. Yet, our local parents are more likely than other groups to think the dangers of air pollution have been exaggerated.
