According to new policy brief from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, children and adults who have asthma and live near heavy vehicular traffic are nearly three times more likely to visit the emergency room or be hospitalized for their condition than those who live near low-traffic areas.
The researchers were able to connect traffic-related air pollution to asthma severity after linking data from Los Angeles and San Diego county respondents to the 2001 California Health Interview survey with traffic counts given by the California Department of Transportation.
The report can be viewed at www.healthpolicy.ucla.edu
Infectious Diseases In Children, September 2006, page 89