Health effects associated with goods movement in the Los Angeles basin

The Los Angeles Basin hosts the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Both ports are sources of mobile and stationary pollution from vehicles, locomotives, ships, and port operations. Concerns have been raised about the health effects linked to air pollution from these sources. This project examined the association of air pollution related to goods movement with lifetime self-reported asthma prevalence. We analyzed epidemiologic data from the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS). Data from the 2003 and 2005 data collection waves were employed. A cross-tabulation of the self-reported cases of asthma and by age and gender indicated the age-specific prevalences of asthma in Los Angeles County among individuals aged 0 to 11 years, 12 to 17 years, 18 to 64 years, and 65 years and older. The highest prevalence was 20.8% [95% C.I. = 16.4-26.8] among males aged 12 to 17 years in 2005. The lowest was 8.5% [95% C.I. = 6.3-10.6] among females aged 0 to 11 years in 2003. These values did not differ appreciably from the statewide self-reported prevalence figures for comparable age groups. A geographic information system (GIS) illustrated the location of asthma cases in relation to major sources of air pollution. Spatial analyses were used to evaluate the relationships among the locations of cases. This report discusses the implications of goods movement for self-reported asthma prevalence in relation to these sources of air pollution.