The Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), the main component of motor vehicle air pollution has been found to be strongly associated with the development of childhood Asthma. The research said that the compound is the root cause for Asthma in childhood.
According to sources, the study show that the largest to date of air pollution exposure and asthma risk in minority children in the United States, the team found that for every five parts per billion increase in NO2 exposure during the first year of life, there was a 17 percent increase in the risk of developing asthma later in life.
The study involved 3,343 Latino and 977 African American participants.
Katherine K. Nishimura said "Many previous studies have shown an obvious link between traffic-related pollution and childhood asthma, but this has never been thoroughly looked at before in an all-minority population."
It is noted that Nishimura, MPH, is a graduate student in the laboratory of senior author Esteban G. Burchard, MD, MPH, a UCSF professor of bioengineering and therapeutic sciences and medicine and director of the UCSF Center for Genes, Environment and Health.
Study co-author John R. Balmes, MD, of UC San Francisco and UC Berkeley, pointed out that a previous study of children living in southern California showed that living and attending school close to major roadways was associated with an increased risk of new-onset asthma.
"Together with our findings, this makes for strong evidence that reducing children's exposure to traffic emissions can prevent some cases of asthma," said Balmes.The study is reported online currently in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine ahead of print publication.
(With inputs from ANI)
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