Pollution linked to allergy risk in youths

MUNICH, Germany, June 16 (UPI) -- Traffic-related pollution increased the risk of allergy and atopic diseases among children by more than 50 percent, German researchers said.

"(Children) living very close to a major road are likely to be exposed not only to a higher amount of traffic-derived particles and gases but also to a more freshly emitted aerosols which may be more toxic," lead author Joachim Heinrich of the German Research Center for Environment and Health at the Institute of Epidemiology in Munich said in a statement.

The researchers examined nearly 2,900 children at age 4 and more than 3,000 at age 6 to determine their rates of doctor-diagnosed asthma or allergy with relation to long-term exposure to traffic-related pollution.

Their exposure to traffic pollutants was calculated as a function of the distance of their homes from major roads at birth and at age 2, 3 and 6.

The study, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, also found a distant-dependent relationship between proximity to the road and risk of allergic sensitization, with those living closest to major roads having a nearly 50 percent greater risk of allergic sensitization.