Traffic Exposure Affects Children’s Lung Development

From this week's Lancet several studies have shown that lung function in children is affected by urban, regional air pollution and exposure to traffic can result in adverse respiratory effects, including increased rates of asthma and other respiratory diseases. Some studies have shown that lung-function deficiency is related to residential exposure to traffic. However, whether traffic exposure adversely affects lung-function growth during the period of rapid lung development that occurs between the age of 10 and 18 years is unknown. This question is important in view of the established relation between diminished lung function in adulthood and morbidity and mortality rates.