Skip to main content
PMC home page
Environmental Health Perspectives logoLink to Environmental Health Perspectives
. 1999 Sep;107(9):761–767. doi: 10.1289/ehp.99107761

Examining associations between childhood asthma and traffic flow using a geographic information system.

P English 1, R Neutra 1, R Scalf 1, M Sullivan 1, L Waller 1, L Zhu 1
PMCID: PMC1566466  PMID: 10464078

Abstract

Using geographic information systems (GIS) and routinely collected data, we explored whether childhood residence near busy roads was associated with asthma in a low-income population in San Diego County, California. We examined the locations of residences of 5,996 children [less than/equal to] 14 years of age who were diagnosed with asthma in 1993 and compared them to a random control series of nonrespiratory diagnoses (n = 2,284). Locations of the children's residences were linked to traffic count data at streets within 550 ft. We also examined the number of medical care visits in 1993 for children with asthma to determine if the number of visits was related to traffic flow. Analysis of the distribution of cases and controls by quintiles and by the 90th, 95th, and 99th percentiles of traffic flow at the highest traffic street, nearest street, and total of all streets within a 550-ft buffer region did not show any significantly elevated odds ratios. However, among cases, those residing near high traffic flows (measured at the nearest street) were more likely than those residing near lower traffic flows to have two or more medical care visits for asthma than to have only one visit for asthma during the year. The results of this exploratory study suggest that higher traffic flows may be related to an increase in repeated medical visits for asthmatic children. Repeated exposure to particulate matter and other air pollutants from traffic exhaust may aggravate asthmatic symptoms in individuals already diagnosed with asthma.

Full text

PDF
761

Images in this article

762Figure 1
on p.762

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bates D. V. The effects of air pollution on children. Environ Health Perspect. 1995 Sep;103 (Suppl 6):49–53. doi: 10.1289/ehp.95103s649. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Brunekreef B., Janssen N. A., de Hartog J., Harssema H., Knape M., van Vliet P. Air pollution from truck traffic and lung function in children living near motorways. Epidemiology. 1997 May;8(3):298–303. doi: 10.1097/00001648-199705000-00012. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Delfino R. J., Coate B. D., Zeiger R. S., Seltzer J. M., Street D. H., Koutrakis P. Daily asthma severity in relation to personal ozone exposure and outdoor fungal spores. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 1996 Sep;154(3 Pt 1):633–641. doi: 10.1164/ajrccm.154.3.8810598. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Duhme H., Weiland S. K., Keil U., Kraemer B., Schmid M., Stender M., 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 Nov;7(6):578–582. doi: 10.1097/00001648-199611000-00003. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Edwards J., Walters S., Griffiths R. K. Hospital admissions for asthma in preschool children: relationship to major roads in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Arch Environ Health. 1994 Jul-Aug;49(4):223–227. doi: 10.1080/00039896.1994.9937471. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. English P. B., Von Behren J., Harnly M., Neutra R. R. Childhood asthma along the United States/Mexico border: hospitalizations and air quality in two California counties. Rev Panam Salud Publica. 1998 Jun;3(6):392–399. doi: 10.1590/s1020-49891998000600005. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Koren H. S. Associations between criteria air pollutants and asthma. Environ Health Perspect. 1995 Sep;103 (Suppl 6):235–242. doi: 10.1289/ehp.95103s6235. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Lemeshow S., Hosmer D. W., Jr A review of goodness of fit statistics for use in the development of logistic regression models. Am J Epidemiol. 1982 Jan;115(1):92–106. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a113284. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Livingstone A. E., Shaddick G., Grundy C., Elliott P. Do people living near inner city main roads have more asthma needing treatment? Case control study. BMJ. 1996 Mar 16;312(7032):676–677. doi: 10.1136/bmj.312.7032.676. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Malveaux F. J., Fletcher-Vincent S. A. Environmental risk factors of childhood asthma in urban centers. Environ Health Perspect. 1995 Sep;103 (Suppl 6):59–62. doi: 10.1289/ehp.95103s659. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Martinez F. D., Cline M., Burrows B. Increased incidence of asthma in children of smoking mothers. Pediatrics. 1992 Jan;89(1):21–26. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Oosterlee A., Drijver M., Lebret E., Brunekreef B. Chronic respiratory symptoms in children and adults living along streets with high traffic density. Occup Environ Med. 1996 Apr;53(4):241–247. doi: 10.1136/oem.53.4.241. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Peters J. M., Avol E., Navidi W., London S. J., Gauderman W. J., Lurmann F., Linn W. S., Margolis H., Rappaport E., Gong H. A study of twelve Southern California communities with differing levels and types of air pollution. I. Prevalence of respiratory morbidity. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 1999 Mar;159(3):760–767. doi: 10.1164/ajrccm.159.3.9804143. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Pope C. A., 3rd Respiratory hospital admissions associated with PM10 pollution in Utah, Salt Lake, and Cache Valleys. Arch Environ Health. 1991 Mar-Apr;46(2):90–97. doi: 10.1080/00039896.1991.9937434. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Rutishauser M., Ackermann U., Braun C., Gnehm H. P., Wanner H. U. Significant association between outdoor NO2 and respiratory symptoms in preschool children. Lung. 1990;168 (Suppl):347–352. doi: 10.1007/BF02718151. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Savitz D. A., Feingold L. Association of childhood cancer with residential traffic density. Scand J Work Environ Health. 1989 Oct;15(5):360–363. doi: 10.5271/sjweh.1848. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Shima M., Adachi M. Serum immunoglobulin E and hyaluronate levels in children living along major roads. Arch Environ Health. 1996 Nov-Dec;51(6):425–430. doi: 10.1080/00039896.1996.9936041. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Wjst M., Reitmeir P., Dold S., Wulff A., Nicolai T., von Loeffelholz-Colberg E. F., von Mutius E. Road traffic and adverse effects on respiratory health in children. BMJ. 1993 Sep 4;307(6904):596–600. doi: 10.1136/bmj.307.6904.596. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Environmental Health Perspectives are provided here courtesy of National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

RESOURCES