Road Traffic Pollution Linked to Development of Asthma in Children

One of the most chronic diseases in children is asthma, and nearly 70 percent of all cases of childhood asthma develop before the child reaches 3 years of age. Experts have stated that there are certain hereditary and environmental risk factors which predispose a kid to developing this chronic disease.

Highlighting the correlation between childhood asthma and traffic pollution, a recent study states that 14 percent of chronic childhood asthma is due to the exposure to traffic pollution near busy roads, according to a press release. The study was conducted in 10 European cities.

The same correlation is applicable for coronary heart diseases in older adults.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that nearly 7.1 million (9.5 percent) children currently have asthma.  

Until now, traffic pollution was assumed to trigger asthma symptoms rather than being the source that causes the disease. In order to study the impact of near-road traffic pollution, the researchers used a technique known as 'population-attributable fractions' that calculated the proportional reduction in disease or death that would occur if exposure to a risk factor were reduced to a lower level.

For this study, the researchers worked on data taken from the existing epidemiological studies, which revealed that children exposed to higher levels of near-road traffic pollution had higher rates of asthma.

Lead author Dr. Laura Perez at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute said in a press statement, "In light of all the existing epidemiological studies showing that road-traffic contributes to the onset of the disease in children, we must consider these results to improve policy making and urban planning."

The findings are published in the journal European Respiratory.