In one area of wellness, traffic pollution could affect your child just as badly as second-hand smoke. This is according to a new study, which found that traffic pollution causes as much childhood asthma as passive smoking.
The research, which was reported in the online version of the European Respiratory Journal, was conducted across 10 cities throughout Europe, and found that, in 14% of chronic childhood asthma cases, pollution near busy roads was the cause. As the rate of asthma cases in children that are associated with passive smoking range between the four and 18% mark, this puts the burden of traffic pollution on par with inhaling second-hand tobacco smoke.
Using data from existing studies, the scientists also discovered that children who are exposed to higher levels of traffic pollution also had higher rates of the respiratory condition. According to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, asthma is defined as a disease that narrows your airways, which causes chest tightening, wheezing and coughing. The condition often starts in childhood, but is categorised as a life-long problem, meaning that traffic pollution not only affects child wellness, but a person’s wellbeing throughout their lifetime.
The researchers employed a method known as population attributable fractions in order to assess the impact of pollution near roads, as this enabled them to calculate the proportional reduction in disease or death (from asthma) that would occur if exposure to a risk factor (traffic pollution) was lowered. The researchers also took differences in the health of different city populations, as well as other factors including passive smoking and socio-economic background, into account.
According to Dr Laura Perez, from the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute in Basel and lead scientist of the study, ‘Air pollution has previously been seen to trigger symptoms but this is the first time we have estimated the percentage of cases that might not have occurred if Europeans had not been exposed to road traffic pollution. In light of all the existing epidemiological studies showing that road traffic contributes to the onset of the disease in children, we must consider these results to improve policy making and urban planning.’
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