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Ed Yeates Reporting Another chilling study on air pollution tonight does not bode well for the health of children living near freeways. This latest research appears to reinforce studies pioneered by Utah epidemiologist Arden Pope.
Children living near a freeway are not only more likely to develop asthma, but also the actual growth of their lungs may be stunted. That's a sobering line from a new study released today by the University of Southern California.
Researchers looked at more than 3,000 children over a period of eight years as they grew through high school graduation. Those who lived approximately a third of a mile from a freeway, since age ten, showed substantial deficits in lung function by the time they reached age eighteen.
The results don't surprise Brigham Young University epidemiologist Arden Pope, a pioneer in pollution research. In fact, he did a similar study in the early 90's here in Utah, but only when we had inversions.
Dr. Arden Pope, BYU Epidemiological Research: "Our studies were just looking at small transient changes in lung function associated with air pollution, and you might say those are bad and we don't want them, and of course we don't. But long term chronic exposure reducing the lung function growth in children is a much more serious issue."
Also, the Utah Department of Health is now collecting its own data.
Children at selected Utah schools are setting baselines by breathing into these devices before and after they return from recess. State Health is measuring lung function to see if there's a difference both when the outside air is good and when it's bad.
Again, the long-term California study indicates that otherwise healthy children, living near major roadways and exposed to traffic exhaust, may develop health effects that can last a lifetime.
The complete California study will appear in the February 17th issue of the medical journal, Lancet.
