Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Research Article
  • Published:

An investigation of the association between traffic exposure and the diagnosis of asthma in children

Abstract

This study investigated whether proximity to traffic at residence location is associated with being diagnosed with asthma as a young child. A survey of parents of children (aged 5–7) in kindergarten and first-grade in 13 schools was completed in Anchorage, Alaska, and Geographical Information System (GIS) mapping was used to obtain an exposure measure based on traffic density within 100 m of the cross streets closest to the child's residence. Using the range of observed exposure values, a score of low, medium or high traffic exposure was assigned to each child. After controlling for individual level confounders, relative to the low referent group, relative risks (95% confidence intervals) of 1.40 (0.77, 2.55) and 2.83 (1.23,6.51) were obtained in the medium and high exposure groups, respectively. For the null hypothesis of no difference in risk, a significance level of 0.056 was obtained, which suggests that further investigation would be worthwhile. Children without a family history of asthma were more likely to have an asthma diagnosis if they resided in a high traffic area than children who had one or more parents with asthma. The relative risk for children without a family history of asthma is 2.43 (1.12, 5.28) for medium exposure and 5.43 (2.08, 13.74) for high exposure. For children with a family history of asthma, the relative risk is 0.66 (0.25, 1.74) for medium exposure and 0.67 (0.12, 3.69) for high exposure. The P-value for the overall “exposure-effect” (i.e. both main effects AND interaction terms) is 0.0097.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

Abbreviations

PM10:

particulate matter less than 10 μm in aerodynamic diameter

PM2.5:

particulate matter less than 2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter

vm:

vehicle meters (vehicles per day multiplied by meters of roadway within the buffer)

References

  • Air Quality in Anchorage: A Summary of Air Monitoring Data and Trends (1980–1999). http://www.indicators.ak.org/Indicators/AirQualRept99.html), 2000.

  • Air Quality Program ESD, Department of Health and Human Services. Architectural, behavioral and environmental factors associated with VOCs in Anchorage homes. Funded by EPA Region X Indoor Air Program. Municipality of Anchorage, Anchorage, Alaska 1998.

  • Brauer M., Hoek G., Van Vliet P., Meliefste K., Fischer P.H., Wijga A., Koopman L.P., Neijens H.J., Gerritsen J., Kerkhof M., Heinrich J., Bellander T., and Brunekreef B. Air pollution from traffic and the development of respiratory infections and asthmatic and allergic symptoms in children. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2002: 166(8): 1092–1098.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brunekreef B., Janssen N.A., de Hartog J., Harssema H., Knape M., and van Vliet P. Air pollution from truck traffic and lung function in children living near motorways. Epidemiology 1997: 3: 298–303.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chuang J.C., Callahan P.J., Lyu C.W., and Wilson N.K. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon exposures of children in low-income families. J Expo Anal Environ Epidemiol 1999: 2: 85–98.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ciccone G., Forastiere F., Agabiti N., Biggeri A., Bisanti L., Chellini E., Corbo G., Dell'Orco V., Dalmasso P., Volante T.F., Galassi C., Piffer S., Renzoni E., Rusconi F., Sestini P., and Viegi G. Road traffic and adverse respiratory effects in children. SIDRIA Collaborative Group. Occup Environ Med 1998: 11: 771–778.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Delfino R., Gong H., Linn W.S., Hu Y., and Pellizzari E.D. Respiratory symptoms and peak expiratory flow in children with asthma in relation to volatile organic compounds in exhaled breath and ambient air. J Exp Anal Environ Epidemiol 2003: 13: 348–363.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Duhme H., Weiland S.K., Keil U., Kraemer B., Schmid M., Stender M., and Chambless L. The association between self-reported symptoms of asthma and allergic rhinitis and self-reported traffic density on street of residence in adolescents. Epidemiology 1996: 7(6): 578–582.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards J., Walters S., and Griffiths R.K. Hospital admissions for asthma in preschool children: relationship to major roads in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Arch Environ Health 1994: 49(4): 223–227.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • English P., Neutra R., Scalf R., Sullivan M., Waller L., and Zhu L. Examining associations between childhood asthma and traffic flow using a geographic information system. Environ Health Perspect 1999: 107(9): 761–767.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gergen P.J., Fowler J.A., Maurer K.R., Davis W.W., and Overpeck M.D. The burden of environmental tobacco smoke exposure on the respiratory health of children 2 months through 5 years of age in the United States: Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988 to 1994. Pediatrics 1998: 101(2): E8.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Harrell F.E. Regression Modeling Strategies. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 2001.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Hosmer D.W., and Lemeshow S. Applied Logistic Regression, Wiley Series in Probability and Statistics, 2nd edn. John Wiley & Sons Inc., New York, NY, 2000.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Jaakkola J.J.K., Nafstad P., and Magnus P. Environmental tobacco smoke, parental atopy, and childhood asthma. Environ Health Persp 2001: 109(6): 579–582.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kim J.J., Smorodinsky S., Lipsett M., Singer B.C., Hodgson A.T., and Ostro B. Traffic-related air pollution near busy roads: the east bay children's respiratory health study. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2004: 170(5): 520–526.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pappas G.P., Herbert R.J., Henderson W., Koenig J., Stover B., and Barnhart S. The respiratory effects of volatile organic compounds. Int J Occup Environ Health 2000: 6: 1–8.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rumchev K., Spickett J., Bulsara M., Phillips M., and Stick S. Association of domestic exposure to volatile organic compounds with asthma in young children. Thorax 2004: 59: 746–751.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shima M., Nitta Y., and Adachi M. Traffic-related air pollution and respiratory symptoms in children living along trunk roads in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. J Epidemiol 2003: 3(2): 108–119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shima M., Nitta Y., Ando M., and Adachi M. Effects of air pollution on the prevalence and incidence of asthma in children. Arch Environ Health 2002: 57(6): 529–535.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • The International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) Steering Committee. Worldwide variations in the prevalence of asthma symptoms: the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC). Euro Respir J 1998: 12: 315–355.

  • Thompson A.J., Shields M.D., and Patterson C.C. Acute asthma exacerbations and air pollutants in children living in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Arch Environ Health 2001: 56(3): 234–241.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • US Census Bureau. American FactFinder, 2000 datasets, Census Summary File 3 (SF3) by census tract for Anchorage, Alaska ( http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DatasetMainPageServlet).

  • van Vliet P., Knape M., de Hartog J., Janssen N., Harssema H., and Brunekreef B. Motor vehicle exhaust and chronic respiratory symptoms in children living near freeways. Environ Res 2000: 74(2): 122–132.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Venn A.J., Lewis S.A., Cooper M., Hubbard R., and Britton J. Living near a main road and the risk of wheezing illness in children. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2001: 164(12): 2177–2180.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ware J.H., Spengler J.D., Neas L.M., Samet J.M., Wagner G.R., Coultas D., Ozkaynak H., and Schwab M. Respiratory and irritant health effects of ambient volatile organic compounds. The Kanawha County Health Study. Am J Epidemiol 1993: 137(12): 1287–1301.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zmirou D., Gauvin S., Pin I., Momas I., Sahraoui F., Just J., Le Moullec Y., Bremont F., Cassadou S., Reungoat P., Albertini M., Lauvergne N., Chiron M., Labbe A., and Vesta investigators Traffic related air pollution and the incidence of childhood asthma: results of the Vesta case–control study. J Epidemiol Community Health 2004: 58: 18–23.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the work of William Lee, Cheryl Northen, and Hannele Zubeck for traffic data collection and GIS expertise. Helpful comments from two anonymous referees improved this article and are gratefully acknowledged. This work was funded entirely by NIEHS Grant Number RO1 ES010100.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mary Ellen Gordian.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Gordian, M., Haneuse, S. & Wakefield, J. An investigation of the association between traffic exposure and the diagnosis of asthma in children. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 16, 49–55 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jea.7500436

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jea.7500436

Keywords

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links