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White Hutchinson Leisure & Learning Group, Kansas City, MO, USA

Site Selection: Vehicles Fumes Increase Asthma Risk for Children

When choosing a suitable site for a child care center, one of the environmental concerns about the site should be traffic pollution risk. According to two recent studies in Germany and Taiwan, Children exposed to traffic pollution are more like to suffer from coughing, wheezing, asthma and allergic rhinitis. The findings suggest that vehicle fumes can sensitize a child's airways to the agents that trigger allergies and inflammation.

The research team found that children living within 50 meters (160 feet) of traffic pollution have nearly twice the risk of asthma symptoms. Children are also 1.6 times more likely to suffer from coughing and wheezing, and are 17%-56% more susceptible to allergies, depending on the allergen.
The two studies suggest that traffic pollution can sometimes cause asthma, rather than just triggering attacks.

(European Respiratory Journal, Vol. 21, p 956 and p 964)

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