Asthma Linked to Congested Highways

People, who live near heavily congested highway, tend to have a high risk of asthma than those, who live farther from the highways, says a study conducted by Suny Downstate Medical Center and Lutheran Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York. The study was published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

Maria-Anna Vastardi, MD, Suny Medical Centre said that the researchers randomly placed participants to do the study and found that people living in close proximity to the Gowanus Expressway reported maximum cases of asthma whereas people, who lived in the same community, but at a longer distance from the expressway were healthy. The study included 62 participants out of which 45 had rhinoconjunctivitis or asthma and the remaining adults were healthy.

The findings of the study clearly presented a correlation between the proximity to a heavily trafficked highway and prevalence of asthma in adults. This suggests that pollution or vehicle emissions can possibly heighten the risk of onset of the inflammatory lung disease, especially in adults.

During the 2012 Annual meet of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, Florida, Dr Maria-Anna gave an oral presentation of the findings of her study.