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Role of traffic-related air pollution in asthma: Is this just a matter of big cities?
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Traffic-related air pollution has been linked to asthma in large cities. It is however unclear whether such associations exist elsewhere. Herein, we examined relationships between traffic-related air pollution and asthma in urban, semi-urban and rural areas.
Methods
Data were from a representative population-based sample of 2000 adults living in Eastern Townships (Quebec, Canada, 2011). This region is divided into 66 local communities and contains a mix of urban, semi-urban, and rural areas. It includes 315,000 individuals from which half live in one central city named Sherbrooke (Quebec’s 6th largest city). Participants were asked to complete a telephone survey (response rate=63.5%). Among investigated issues, there were: 1) diagnosed asthma and 2) asthma symptoms. Using postal codes, community-level road density (km of roads per km2 of land area), a proxy for traffic-related air pollution, was computed for each participant. Chi-square tests, logistic regressions, and multilevel analyses were run.
Results
A positive gradient was observed between road density and diagnosed asthma (p=0.02), but not with asthma symptoms (p=0.28). Multivariate models were similar for both variables. Independent of smoking and socioeconomic status, road density was associated with diagnosed asthma (Q5/Q1 odds ratio[OR]=1.81; 95% confidence intervals[CI]=1.09-3.02) and asthma symptoms (OR=2.10;95%CI=1.11-3.95). However, when controlling for being a tenant, the associations were attenuated and became non-significant (diagnosed asthma: OR=1.66;95%CI=0.97-2.89; asthma symptoms: OR=1.93;95%CI=0.99-3.79).
Conclusion
Previous literature linking traffic-related air pollution to asthma may apply to smaller cities. However, potential confounders (e.g. being a tenant, housing quality) have to be considered given their relation with both outcomes.
Learning Areas:
Advocacy for health and health educationEnvironmental health sciences
Epidemiology
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Public health or related education
Learning Objectives:
Identify the relation between a proxy of traffic-related air pollution and asthma in small cities.
Assess the contribution of socioeconomic status and other individual characteristics as potential confounders on this relation.
Keyword(s): Asthma, Air Pollution & Respiratory Health
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been the principal or a co-principal investigator of multiple funded research on epidemiology of many health-related outcomes including asthma diagnosis and or symptoms in a public health perspective.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.