Another Look at Asthma and Car Pollution

In February, I posted an article that looks at traffic pollution causing genetic changes in the womb that may lead to asthma. Today, I ran across an article on Reuters that discusses a study that examined a link between poor lung function among adult asthmatics that lived near a road with heavy traffic.

In a study of 176 adults with asthma or rhinitis, Dr. John R. Balmes, of the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues found “the closer adults with asthma live to roadways with heavy traffic…the lower their lung function.”

“Living close to any road was associated with lower lung function,” Balmes told Reuters Health.

Of course it should come as no surprise that traffic pollution further impairs the lung function of an individual with asthma. My daughter asthma is noticeably worse on days with higher pollution. Take today, for example. We have had sustained wind in the 20s with gusts in to the 40s and there is dust and particulates filling the air. My daughter played outside at recess today for about 20 minutes and came home with a stuffy/runny nose and a cough.

I’m wondering if worsening air quality is going to lead to asthmatics taking drastic measures to improve their quality of life. I can only hope that by the time Ava is an adult, we all have cleaner air to breathe.

Photo by burning image

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