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JACI Highlights - April 2008
O'Connor, et al. - Acute respiratory health effects of air pollution on asthmatic children in US inner cities
George T O’Connor, MD, MS, Lucas Neas, DSc, Benjamin Vaughn, MS, Meyer Kattan, MD, Herman Mitchell, PhD, Ellen F Crain, MD, Richard Evans III, MD, Rebecca Gruchalla, MD, PhD, Wayne Morgan, MD, James Stout, MD, G. Kenneth Adams, MD, Morton Lippmann, PhD
Recent research has indicated that higher air pollution levels are associated with an increased risk of severe asthma attacks and medication use. In poor urban areas, the effects of these pollutants on asthmatic children may be even more pronounced. In a study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, George T. O’Connor, MD, and colleagues report on their investigation of the association between fluctuations in outdoor air pollution and respiratory symptoms and lung function in inner-city children with asthma. The authors studied a group of 861 children with persistent asthma living in low-income areas in seven US urban settings (Boston, the Bronx, Chicago, Dallas, New York City, Seattle and Tucson). They regularly monitored the children’s asthma symptoms, breathing function, and school absences and obtained daily outdoor pollution measurements over a two-year period. The researchers found that the children had significantly lower lung function following periods with higher concentrations of the air pollutants nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and fine particulate matter. Asthma symptoms and asthma-related school absences were also increased after periods with higher concentrations of some pollutants. The association with nitrogen dioxide in particular suggests that motor vehicle emissions may be causing excess respiratory symptoms in these urban-based asthmatic children. Efforts are needed to reduce air pollution and to develop urban transportation policies that protect this vulnerable population in US cities.
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