| Self-Reported Truck Traffic on the Street of Residence and Symptoms
of Asthma and Allergic Disease: A Global Relationship in ISAAC Phase 3 Bert Brunekreef,1 Alistair W. Stewart,2 H. Ross Anderson,3 Christopher K.W. Lai,4 David P. Strachan,3 Neil Pearce,5 and the ISAAC Phase 3 Study Group 1Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences and Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands; 2School of Population Health, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand; 3Division of Community Health Sciences, St. George’s, University of London, London, United Kingdom; 4Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, People’s Republic of China; 5Center for Public Health Research, Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand Abstract
Background: Associations between traffic pollution on the street of residence and a range of respiratory and allergic outcomes in children have been reported in developed countries, but little is known about such associations in developing countries. Methods: The third phase of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) was carried out in 13- to 14-year-old and 6- to 7-year-old children across the world. A question about frequency of truck traffic on the street of residence was included in an additional questionnaire. We investigated the association between self-reported truck traffic on the street of residence and symptoms of asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis, and eczema with logistic regression. Adjustments were made for sex, region of the world, language, gross national income, and 10 other subject-specific covariates. Results: Frequency of truck traffic on the street of residence was positively associated with the prevalence of symptoms of asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis, and eczema with an exposure–response relationship. Odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for “current wheeze” and “almost the whole day” versus “never” truck traffic were 1.35 (1.23–1.49) for 13- to 14-year-olds and 1.35 (1.22–1.48) for 6- to 7-year-olds. Conclusions: Higher exposure to self-reported truck traffic on the street of residence is associated with increased reports of symptoms of asthma, rhinitis, and eczema in many locations in the world. These findings require further investigation in view of increasing exposure of the world’s children to traffic. Key words: air pollution, asthma, eczema, rhinitis, truck traffic. Environ Health Perspect 117:1791–1798 (2009) . doi:10.1289/ehp.0800467 available via http://dx.doi.org/ [Online 20 July 2009]
Address correspondence to B. Brunekreef, Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Universiteit Utrecht, PO Box 80176, 3508 TD, Utrecht, the Netherlands. Telephone: 31-30-2535400. Fax: 31-30-2539499. E-mail: b.brunekreef@uu.nl Supplemental Material is available online (doi:10.1289/ehp.0800467.S1 via http://dx.doi.org/) . We are grateful to the children and parents who willingly cooperated and participated in International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) phase 3 and sincerely appreciate the coordination and assistance by the school staff. We also acknowledge and thank the many funding bodies throughout the world that supported the individual ISAAC centers and collaborators and their meetings. Currently, the main source of funding for the ISAAC International Data Centre (IIDC) is the Bupa Foundation. Many New Zealand funding bodies have contributed support for the IIDC: Health Research Council of New Zealand, Asthma and Respiratory Foundation of New Zealand, Child Health Research Foundation, Hawke’s Bay Medical Research Foundation, Waikato Medical Research Foundation, Glaxo Wellcome New Zealand, New Zealand Lottery Grants Board, and AstraZeneca New Zealand. Glaxo Wellcome International Medical Affairs supported the regional coordination and the IIDC. The funders of the study had no role in study design ; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data ; in the writing of the report ; or in the decision to submit the manuscript for publication. The authors declare they have no competing financial interests. Received 9 December 2008 ; accepted 20 July 2009.
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