Highway Traffic Ups Asthma Risk

Children living near roadways with high-volumetraffic are more prone to developasthma, compared with other children. Astudy showed that children living within 82yd of a major roadway had a 50% higherrisk of experiencing asthma symptoms duringthe previous year, compared with childrenwho lived >328 yd from a highway.

"The next step will be to verify theseresults with actual measurements of pollutionaround the homes near and distantfrom major roads, and to see if childrenwho live in areas with heavy traffic developasthma as we follow them," said leadauthor Rob McConnell, MD. (The findingswere reported during the American ThoracicSociety International Conference,May 23, 2005.)