Traffic pollution raises risk of childhood allergies

FRIDAY June 13, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) -- Traffic pollution may increase the risk of allergies in children, according to a German study confirming earlier studies that found an association between pollution and allergies.

Researchers said in a statement released Friday that children who lived within 50 meters of a busy road were 50 percent more likely to develop asthma, hay fever, eczema, and other allergies than their counterparts living far away from such roads.

In the study, Joachim Heinrich, an epidemiologist at the Helmholtz Research Centre for Environment and Health in Munich and colleagues followed 3,00 healthy children in Munich for six years since birth for incidence of allergies and exposure to traffic pollution.

The findings were published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. 

By Ben Wasserman, and edited by Heather Kelley.
Jun 13, 2008 - 12:05:02 PM