50% Increased Risk for Allergy and Atopic Diseases from Traffic Pollution

New Study Finds Children at Increased Risk

New evidence blames traffic-related pollution for increasing the risk of allergy and atopic diseases among children by more than fifty percent. What's more, the closer the children live to roads, the higher their risk.

"Children living very close to a major road are likely to be exposed not only to a higher amount of traffic-derived particles and gases but also to a more freshly emitted aerosols which may be more toxic," wrote lead author of the research, Joachim Heinrich, Ph.D., of the German Research Center for Environment and Health at the Institute of Epidemiology, in Munich.

After controlling for such individual characteristics as parental allergies, pet ownership, and number of siblings, researchers found significant positive associations between distance to the nearest road and asthmatic bronchitis, hay fever, eczema and allergic sensitizations. They also found a distant-dependent relationship between proximity to the road and risk of allergic sensitization, with those living closest to major roads having a nearly 50 percent greater risk of allergic sensitization.

The results appeared in the second issue for June of the American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

Legal Help

If you or a loved one has suffered ill health effects as a result of pollution, please click the link below to send your complaint to a lawyer to evaluate your claim at no cost or obligation.
Published on Jun-13-08