Children and adults who suffer from asthma and live near heavy vehicular traffic are nearly three times more likely to visit the emergency room or be hospitalized for their condition than those who live near low-traffic areas, according to a new policy brief from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. For adults with asthma, medium- and high-traffic exposure increases the likelihood of daily or weekly asthma symptoms by 40 percent and 80 percent, respectively, compared with low-traffic exposure.

The policy brief also notes that living in areas of heavy traffic is a burden borne disproportionately by asthma sufferers who are ethnic or racial minorities or are from low-income households.

"This data shows that living near heavy traffic poses significant health risks for children and adults suffering from asthma," said Ying-Ying Meng, a senior research scientist at the Center for Health Policy Research and lead author of the policy brief. "Many ethnic/racial minority and low-income asthma sufferers do not have a choice about whether or not to live near heavy traffic, so anything that can be done to continue to control traffic-related emissions will go a long way toward protecting these sensitive populations."

Researchers were able to link traffic-related air pollution to asthma severity after merging data from Los Angeles and San Diego county respondents to the 2001 California Health Interview Survey with traffic counts provided by the California Department of Transportation. The complete report can be viewed at http://www.healthpolicy.ucla.edu.

Some of the other key findings from the policy brief include:
. Twenty-two percent of children (age 1 to 17) with asthma who live near heavy traffic had at least one asthma-related emergency room visit or hospitalization in the previous 12 months, while 8 percent of those who live in low-traffic areas had one.
. Eight percent of adults (age 18 and older) with asthma who live in heavy-traffic areas had an asthma-related ER visit or hospitalization in the previous 12 months, while 3 percent of those who live in low-traffic areas had one.
. Children with asthma living below the federal poverty level (FPL) are more than twice as likely to live in high-traffic areas as those living at 300 percent of the FPL.
. Adults with asthma living below the FPL are 10 percent more likely to live in medium- or high-traffic areas than those at 300 percent of the FPL.
. Latino children with asthma are nearly two-and-a-half times more likely to live near heavy traffic than white children.
. African Americans, Asians and other racial/ethnic minority children with asthma are almost twice as likely to live near heavy traffic as white children.
. Racial/ethnic minority adults are also more likely to live near heavy traffic than their white counterparts.

Funding for this policy brief was provided by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The UCLA Center for Health Policy Research was established in 1994 and is one of the nation's leading health policy research centers. It is also the premier source of key health policy information for California. The center is based in the UCLA School of Public Health and is affiliated with the UCLA School of Public Affairs.

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