Residential proximity to major roadways is associated with increased prevalence of allergic respiratory  symptoms in children

Porębski, Grzegorz; Woźniak, Magdalena; Czarnobilska, Ewa

doi:10.5604/12321966.1129929

Cited by 34 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 27 publications

(29 reference statements)

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“…47 In contrast, studies that reported strong associations were conducted in places such as the United Kingdom, Poland, and South Korea, whose air pollution indexes were 40.63, 52.88, and 54.80, respectively. [23][24][25]48 Similar trends have been reported within the United States. A study conducted in Los Angeles reported that children and adults who suffer from asthma and live close to tra c are nearly three times more likely to visit the emergency department or be hospitalized than those who live near low tra c density.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 72%

“…[10][11][12] Areas close to major roadways can have high PM2.5 and CO levels, 13,14 and there is a growing body of evidence suggesting that proximity to car tra c sources can negatively affect asthma severity. [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] Importantly, the results of these studies are somewhat mixed, with a few studies either nding no association or weak associations between asthma exacerbations and distance to roadways. [27][28][29][30] Some of the inconsistency in the results can be attributed to heterogeneity in study design, outcomes, cohort de nition, and exposure assessments.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evaluation of associations between asthma exacerbations and distance to roadways using geocoded electronic health records data

Ghorveh

Hurst

Tang

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Background Asthma exacerbations in children often require medications, urgent care, and hospitalization. Multiple environmental triggers have been associated with asthma exacerbations, including particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) and carbon monoxide (CO), which are primarily generated by motor vehicle exhaust. There is mixed evidence as to whether proximity to highways increases risk of asthma exacerbations. Methods To test this hypothesis, we assessed the association between asthma exacerbations and the distance to two types of roadways in Durham County, accounting for other patient-level factors. We abstracted data from the Duke University Health System electronic health record (EHR), identifying 6,208 children with asthma between 2014 – 2019. We geocoded each child’s distance to roadways (both 35 MPH+ and 55 MPH+). We classified asthma exacerbation severity into four tiers and fitted a recurrent event survival model to account for multiple exacerbations. Results There was a consistent weak effect of residential distance from 55+ MPH highway and any asthma exacerbation (Hazard Ratio: 0.98 (95% confidence interval: 0.94, 1.01)), but there was no effect from distance to 35+ MPH roadway (Hazard Ratio: 0.98 (95% confidence interval: 0.83, 1.15)). Conclusions While the results were negative, characteristics of a study sample – namely farther distance to roadways and generally good ambient environmental pollution may contribute to this. Compared to previous work which often relied on self-report measures, we are able to obtain a more objective assessment of outcomes. Overall, this work highlights the opportunity to use EHR data to study environmental impacts of disease.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 72%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of associations between asthma exacerbations and distance to roadways using geocoded electronic health records data

Ghorveh

Hurst

Tang

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Surprisingly, allergies and wheezing showed much stronger associations with living near non-interstate primary roads than with living near the interstate, but associations were not statistically significant. Porebski et al (2014) found similar results among children and adolescents, comparing those living < 200 m from major roadway versus those living further than 500 m from the nearest major roadway, statistically significant odds ratios ranged from 2.0 to 5.7 for self-reported asthma and asthma symptoms. Bowatte et al (2016) also found a slightly increased odds ratio of 1.10 (0.97–1.24) among an adult population when comparing those living within 200 m of a major road with those living further away.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 53%

Allergic disease associations with regional and localized estimates of air pollution

Schultz

Schauer

Malecki

2017

Environmental Research

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Background: Exposure to multiple types of air pollution may contribute to and exacerbate allergic diseases including asthma and wheezing. However, few studies have examined chronic air pollution exposure and allergic disease outcomes among an adult population. Associations between potential estimates of annual average fine particulate matter (PM2.5), traffic related air pollution, and industrial source air emissions and three allergic disease outcomes (asthma, allergies and wheezing) were examined in a state-wide general population of adults. Methods: The study includes a representative sample of 3381 adult Wisconsin residents who participated in the 2008–2013 Survey of the Health of Wisconsin (SHOW) program. Participant data were geographically linked to The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Baysian space-time downscaler air pollution model for PM2.5, the United States Census roadway, and USEPA's Toxic Release Inventory data. Self-report and lung function (FEV1) estimates were used to define prevalence of asthma, allergies and wheezing symptoms. Results: Annual mean exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) was between 6.59 and 15.14 μg/m3. An increase of 5 μg/m3 in the annual mean PM2.5 resulted in a 3.58 (2.36, 5.43) increase in the adjusted odds (95% CI) of having asthma. Exposure to vehicle traffic increased the odds of both current allergies [OR (95% CI)=1.35 (1.07, 1.35)] and current asthma [OR (95% CI)=1.51 (1.14, 2.00)]. Living within 300 m of an Interstate roadway was associated with a 3-fold increase in the odds of asthma. Those living within 800 m of an industrial site were 47% more likely to have asthma. No significant associations were seen with wheezing. Conclusions: Within this population exposed to overall annual average levels of estimated low level chronic exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) at or near 12 μg/m3, the USEPA standard for air quality, significant association between both modeled PM2.5 exposure and proximity to roadways with asthma and allergies but not wheezing were found. Industrial source emissions were not associated with any allergic disease outcomes.

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“…As explained by [20], the use of population density as a proxy for exposure levels is motivated by the fact that (i) exposure to local emissions from transport is largely a function of both the amount of traffic activity, and the number of people who regularly live or work along roadsides [50,53]; that (ii) numerous studies analyze air pollutant exposure levels at a certain distance from a high-traffic road [54,55]; and that (iii) health effects and residential proximity to high traffic roads show a correlation [51].…”

Section: Assessment Indicatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Managing Traffic Flows for Cleaner Cities: The Role of Green Navigation Systems

2017

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Cities worldwide suffer from serious air pollution problems and are main contributors to climate change. Green Navigation systems have a great potential to reduce fuel consumption and exhaust emissions from traffic. This research evaluates the impacts of different percentages of green drivers on traffic, CO 2 , and NO x over the entire Madrid Region. A macroscopic traffic model was combined with an enhanced macroscopic emissions model and a GIS (Geographic Information Systems) to simulate emissions on the basis of average vehicle speeds and traffic intensity at the link level. NO x emissions are evaluated, taking into account not only the exhaust emissions produced by transport activity, but also the amount of the population exposed to these air pollutants. Results show up to 10.4% CO 2 and 13.8% NO x reductions in congested traffic conditions for a 90% penetration of green drivers; however, the population's exposure to NO x increases up to 20.2%. Moreover, while traffic volumes decrease by 13.5% for the entire region, they increase by up to 16.4% downtown. Travel times also increase by 28.7%. Since green drivers tend to choose shorter routes through downtown areas, eco-routing systems are an effective tool for fighting climate change, but are ineffective to reduce air pollution in dense urban areas.

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Residential proximity to major roadways is associated with increased prevalence of allergic respiratory symptoms in children

Abstract: Our findings suggest an important spatial relationship between the distance from a major roadway and the evaluated respiratory symptoms. The results emphasize the need for more comprehensive air quality policies within urban areas with increased motor vehicle density.

Cited by 34 publications

References 27 publications

Evaluation of associations between asthma exacerbations and distance to roadways using geocoded electronic health records data

Evaluation of associations between asthma exacerbations and distance to roadways using geocoded electronic health records data

Allergic disease associations with regional and localized estimates of air pollution

Managing Traffic Flows for Cleaner Cities: The Role of Green Navigation Systems

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