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PICNIC stands for Air Pollution, housing and respiratory tract Infections in Children: National Birth Cohort Study
Welcome to the PICNIC study website!
We will use large health databases linked to environmental and Census data to look at whether children exposed to outdoor air pollution or poor housing conditions (like overcrowding, damp or high levels of indoor air pollution) during pregnancy or early childhood can increase the risk of respiratory tract infections like bronchiolitis, pneumonia and croup.
Please look around the website to learn more about the study. We will also publish our results here, under Results and publications.
Hear more about PICNIC from its Principal Investigator
Recent news
PICNIC at the Play Street, 22nd September 2023
Members of the PICNIC team attended to 2023 Great Ormond Street Play Street to showcase health research into our local environments for World Car Free Day. We had lots of fun sharing stickers, seed packets and learning about children and parents’ research priorities. The question, “How does living near parks, fields or other green spaces impact young people’s health?” won the most votes.”
The PICNIC study is presented to the public at the Bloomsbury Festival, 20th October 2022
The Bloomsbury Festival 2022’s theme was Breathe. Bloomsbury is internationally known for its garden squares, but as an inner-city area it is bordered by one of the city's most polluted roads. Samantha Hajna and Pia Hardelid presented the PICNIC study to the public at Senate House, also understanding the local environmental priorities of those attending.
The PICNIC study is funded by the Medical Research Council
