New! Sign up for our free email newsletter.
Science News
from research organizations

Those living near highway and railroad intersections more likely to develop asthma, study finds

Date:
May 7, 2010
Source:
Mayo Clinic
Summary:
Researchers recently released study data showing children who lived near major highway or railroad intersections have higher diagnoses of asthma. The researchers used this study to show how neighborhood environment is a risk factor in understanding the development of pediatric asthma.
Share:
FULL STORY

Mayo Clinic researchers recently released study data showing children who lived near major highway or railroad intersections have higher diagnoses of asthma. The researchers used this study to show how neighborhood environment is a risk factor in understanding the development of pediatric asthma.

The study appears in a recent edition of The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

"Using nearest propensity score, children who lived in census tracts facing the intersection with major highways or railways had about 40 to 70 percent increased risk of developing childhood asthma," says Young Juhn, M.D., of Mayo Clinic's Department of Community Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. "What this tells us is that clinicians need to be concerned about neighborhood environment beyond home environment to understand the individual asthma case."

The study was a retrospective, population-based birth cohort where researchers studied 3,970 people born between 1976 and 1979 in Rochester, Minn. Of the 1,947 subjects living in census tracts that faced intersections, 6.4 percent developed asthma, while 4.5 percent of those living in census tracts not facing intersections developed asthma. Dr. Juhn and his colleagues are currently conducting research that looks at the influence of neighborhood environment on other disease outcomes.

Other study authors include Rui Qin, Ph.D., Department of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic; Sanghwa Urm, M.D., Ph.D, Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, Inje University, South Korea; Slavica Katusic, M.D., Department of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic; and Delfino Vargas-Chanes, Ph.D., Center of Sociological Studies, El Colegio de Mexico.


Story Source:

Materials provided by Mayo Clinic. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Young J. Juhn, Rui Qin, Sanghwa Urm, Slavica Katusic, Delfino Vargas-Chanes. The influence of neighborhood environment on the incidence of childhood asthma: A propensity score approach. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 2010; 125 (4): 838 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaci.2009.12.998

Cite This Page:

Mayo Clinic. "Those living near highway and railroad intersections more likely to develop asthma, study finds." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 7 May 2010. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100506141634.htm>.
Mayo Clinic. (2010, May 7). Those living near highway and railroad intersections more likely to develop asthma, study finds. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 28, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100506141634.htm
Mayo Clinic. "Those living near highway and railroad intersections more likely to develop asthma, study finds." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100506141634.htm (accessed March 28, 2024).

Explore More

from ScienceDaily

RELATED STORIES