Living near traffic boosts allergy risk

PEDIATRICS
Parents have always known that children and traffic don't mix, but a new German study offers even more support for that concern. Researchers, led by Joachim Heinrich of the German Research Center for Environment and Health from the Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen, followed two groups - 2,900 children from birth to age 4 and more than 3,000 children from birth to age 6 - and assessed their risk of developing allergies based on how far they lived from a major road. Air pollution was measured at 40 sites in the city of Munich, and the development of allergies in the children was assessed using questionnaires and by measuring the level of antibodies for different allergens in the blood serum. Researchers found that the closer a child lived to a major road, the higher the risk of developing allergies, and children living less than 50 meters (about 55 yards) from a major road had a 50 percent higher risk of developing allergies than those who lived farther away.

BOTTOM LINE: Children who live close to a major road and are therefore exposed to traffic-related air pollution have an increased risk of allergies, eczema, and asthma, said Heinrich.

CAUTIONS: Other factors, like socioeconomic status, also contribute to the development of allergies, and though the study accounted for these, we cannot conclusively say that traffic pollution alone is the cause for higher allergy risk.

WHAT'S NEXT: The researchers plan to follow the children until age 10 or longer to see the effects of age and any family moves.

WHERE TO FIND IT: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, June 15

SENA DESAI GOPAL