ERS 2010: Childhood wheeze and heavy-vehicle exhaust

Kinderen die binnen een afstand van 200m wonen van een weg waar er 500 vrachtwagens (zeer klein aantal!!; in Antwerpen passeren op de ring  in beide richtingen op het spitsuur alleen al 13.000 à 22.000 voertuigen, waarvan een zeer groot deel vrachtwagens) voorbij komen, hebben bijna 2 keer zoveel kans op symptomen van astma.

Hoezo, geen 18 rijstroken aan het Sportpaleis bij het nieuwe plan van de regering?

Zie hier de paperclip, met mooi parkje ernaast. Longen open!

The results of a study performed in Sweden show that children who live within 200 m of a road carrying more than 500 heavy vehicles per day have significantly higher risk of childhood wheeze.

While traffic-related air pollution is considered to be a cause of respiratory disease in children, there is little data directly concerning the effects of exhaust from heavy vehicles. Researchers in Sweden have conducted a study of 1,357 children living in Luleå, Sweden, to evaluate the impact of living in the proximity of roads along which heavy vehicles pass. As the lead researcher, Dr Martin Andersson, noted, conducting such a study in a small town in northern Sweden has the advantage of a population with quite small socio-economic differences living in a place considered to have relatively clean air compared with big cities.  The study participants all completed an International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire. The proximity of the children’s addresses to main roads was established, and data on the types and frequencies of vehicles passing along those roads were collected from local traffic authorities.

Adjusting for factors such as age, sex, and hereditary asthma, it was found that children who lived within 200 m of a road along which more than 500 heavy vehicles passed per day had significantly increased odds of having childhood wheeze (OR 1.7; 95% CI 1.0-2.8). The association was lost if non-specified vehicles were considered instead of heavy vehicles. An increased risk of asthma was also seen in these children, and although the results did not reach significance, Dr Andersson noted that the study was not really powered to show asthma risk.

In conclusion, Dr Andersson said: “In our study we have seen that there is a significant association between exposure to heavy-vehicle exhaust and current wheeze in the last 12 months. This supports the hypothesis of vehicle exhaust as an inducer of asthma and asthmatic symptoms.”

Source: European Respiratory Society Annual Congress, Barcelona, Spain, 18-22 September 2010, presentation number P2547.

28-09-2010