Inner City Children with Asthma Experience Respiratory Symptoms in Relation to Air Pollution
The effect of daily ambient air pollution was studied in a cohort of 850 asthmatic children ages 4-9 living in eight inner city urban areas in the U.S. The urban areas studied were Bronx and East Harlem, NY, Baltimore, MD, Washington, DC, Detroit, MI, Cleveland, OH, Chicago, IL and St. Louis, MO.
The impact of pollution developed over several days, with the largest effects seen in morning measurements of lung function. Nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and PM10 were associated with an increase in morning asthma symptoms, with nitrogen dioxide exhibiting the strongest influence. Ozone exhibited the greatest effect on peak expiratory flow rate. Adverse respiratory effects were reported in all the cities studied.
Researchers conclude: “this longitudinal analysis supports previous time-series findings that at levels below current USA air-quality standards, summer-air pollution is significantly related to symptoms and decreased pulmonary function among children with asthma.”
Mortimer, K.M., Neas, L.M., Dockery, D.W., Redline, S., Tager, I.B. The Effect of Air Pollution on Inner-City Children with Asthma, Eur. Respir. J. Vol, 19, pp. 699-705, 2002.
The European Respiratory Society offers the abstract online.
