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Air Pollution from Traffic and the Development of Respiratory Infections and Asthmatic and Allergic Symptoms in Children

School of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Environmental and Occupational Health Group, Utrecht University, Utrecht; RIVM-National Institute of Public Health and Environment, Bilthoven; Department of Pediatrics, Erasmus University, and Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam; Beatrix Children's Hospital and Department of Epidemiology, Groningen University, Groningen, The Netherlands; Institute of Epidemiology, GSF National Research Center for Environment and Health, Neuherberg, Germany; Department of Environmental Health, Stockholm County Council; and Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden

Correspondence and requests for reprints should be addressed to Dr. Michael Brauer, School of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, University of British Columbia, 2206 East Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3 Canada. E-mail: brauer{at}interchange.ubc.ca

ABSTRACT

Despite the important contribution of traffic sources to urban air quality, relatively few studies have evaluated the effects of traffic-related air pollution on health, such as its influence on the development of asthma and other childhood respiratory diseases. We examined the relationship between traffic-related air pollution and the development of asthmatic/allergic symptoms and respiratory infections in a birth cohort (n 4,000) study in The Netherlands. A validated model was used to assign outdoor concentrations of traffic-related air pollutants (nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter less than 2.5 µm in aerodynamic diameter, and "soot") at the home of each subject of the cohort. Questionnaire-derived data on wheezing, dry nighttime cough, ear, nose, and throat infections, skin rash, and physician-diagnosed asthma, bronchitis, influenza, and eczema at 2 years of age were analyzed in relation to air pollutants. Adjusted odds ratios for wheezing, physician-diagnosed asthma, ear/nose/throat infections, and flu/serious colds indicated positive associations with air pollutants, some of which reached borderline statistical significance. No associations were observed for the other health outcomes analyzed. Sensitivity analyses generally supported these results and suggested somewhat stronger associations with traffic, for asthma that was diagnosed before 1 year of age. These findings are subject to confirmation at older ages, when asthma can be more readily diagnosed.

Key Words: asthma • allergy • respiratory infections • air pollution • vehicle emissions

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