title: Respiratory symptoms in primary schoolchildren living near a freeway in Taiwan.
abstract: A cross-sectional epidemiological study was conducted in an effort to investigate the effects of automobile exhaust on respiratory symptoms of school children in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. One school (Yang-Ming primary school) was located in the vicinity of 150 m from the highway and designated as a heavy-traffic area. The control school (Zhuang-Jing primary school) was situated in the same district but the distance of the school address to the freeway was 1500 m and designated as a low-traffic area. All of the primary school children in those schools were used in the study. In total, 3221 children were from the heavy-traffic school and 2969 from the low-traffic area. The respiratory health was assessed by an evaluation of the child's respiratory symptoms and illnesses using a parent-completed questionnaire. Data on traffic flow on the freeway were obtained from the Department of Transportation. Road traffic flows in front of the study schools were also measured with a portable counter. This study showed that a freeway surrounding a child's school may not be associated with an increased risk of respiratory symptoms. This may be due to insufficiently large contrasts in traffic pollution levels between these areas.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Public Health, Kaohsiung Medical University, Taiwan. chunyuh@cc.kmu.edu.tw
authors.forename: Chun-Yuh
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Sheng-Tsung
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Chih-Ching
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Chang
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D062665:Epidemiological Monitoring; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018986:Motor Vehicles / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009585:Nitrogen Dioxide / Q000032:analysis; D015995:Prevalence; D012140:Respiratory Tract Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D012574:Schools; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology; D001335:Vehicle Emissions / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D001335:Vehicle Emissions; D009585:Nitrogen Dioxide