Published ahead of print on March 12, 2008, doi:10.1164/rccm.200701-036OC Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., Volume 177, Number 12, June 2008, 1331-1337 A more recent version of this article appeared on June 15, 2008
Submitted on January 8, 2007 Atopic Diseases, Allergic Sensitisation and Exposure to Traffic-Related Air Pollution in ChildrenVerena Morgenstern1,1 Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Munich, Germany, 2 Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Munich, Germany; Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, Dr. v. Hauner's Children Hospital, Munich, Germany, 3 Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Munich, Germany; WZU - Environmental Science Center, University Augsburg, Augsburg, Germany, 4 Technical University Munich, Children Hospital, Munich, Germany, 5 Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, Dr. v. Hauner's Children Hospital, Munich, Germany, 6 Working Area Epidemiology, IUF - Institut fur umweltmedizinische Forschung, Duesseldorf, Germany, 7 Technical University Munich, Division of Environmental Dermatoloy and Allergy, ZAUM-Center for Allergy and Environment, Munich, Germany, 8 UFZ - Human Exposure Research and Epidemiology at the UFZ Leipzig-Halle, Leipzig, Germany; University of Leipzig, Faculty of Medicine, Environmental Medicine and Environmental Hygiene, Leipzig, Germany, 9 Marien-Hospital Wesel, Wesel, Germany, 10 Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Munich, Germany; Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, Institute of Medical Data Management, Biometrics and Epidemiology, Munich, Germany, 11 GINI and LISA study group, none * To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: joachim.heinrich{at}helmholtz-muenchen.de.
Rationale In vitro studies, animal experiments and human exposure studies have shown how ambient air pollution increases the risk of atopic diseases. However, results derived from observational studies are inconsistent. Objectives To assess the relationship between individual based exposure to traffic-related air pollutants and allergic disease outcomes in a prospective birth cohort study during the first six years of life. Methods We studied 2860 children at the age of 4 years and 3061 at the age of 6 years to investigate atopic diseases and allergic sensitisation. Long-term exposure to particulate matter (PM2.5), PM2.5 absorbance and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) was assessed at residential addresses using geographic information systems based regression models and air pollution measurements. The distance to the nearest main road was used as a surrogate for traffic-related air pollutants. Measurements and Main Results Strong positive associations were found between the distance to the nearest main road and asthmatic bronchitis, hay fever, eczema and sensitisation. A distance-dependent relationship could be identified, with the highest odds ratios for children living less than 50 m from busy streets. For PM2.5 absorbance, statistically significant effects were found for asthmatic bronchitis (odds ratio (OR) (95% confidence interval (CI)) (1.56 (1.03; 2.37)), hay fever (1.59 (1.11; 2.27) and allergic sensitisation to pollen (1.40 (1.20; 1.64). NO2 exposure was associated with eczema, while no association was found for allergic sensitisation. Conclusions This study provides strong evidence for increased risk of atopic diseases and allergic sensitisation when children are exposed to ambient particulate matter. Key words: air pollution, GIS, allergic sensitisation, allergy
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