title: Near-highway pollutants in motor vehicle exhaust: a review of epidemiologic evidence of cardiac and pulmonary health risks.
abstract: There is growing evidence of a distinct set of freshly-emitted air pollutants downwind from major highways, motorways, and freeways that include elevated levels of ultrafine particulates (UFP), black carbon (BC), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), and carbon monoxide (CO). People living or otherwise spending substantial time within about 200 m of highways are exposed to these pollutants more so than persons living at a greater distance, even compared to living on busy urban streets. Evidence of the health hazards of these pollutants arises from studies that assess proximity to highways, actual exposure to the pollutants, or both. Taken as a whole, the health studies show elevated risk for development of asthma and reduced lung function in children who live near major highways. Studies of particulate matter (PM) that show associations with cardiac and pulmonary mortality also appear to indicate increasing risk as smaller geographic areas are studied, suggesting localized sources that likely include major highways. Although less work has tested the association between lung cancer and highways, the existing studies suggest an association as well. While the evidence is substantial for a link between near-highway exposures and adverse health outcomes, considerable work remains to understand the exact nature and magnitude of the risks.
authors: Tufts Community Research Center, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA. dbrugge@aol.com
authors: Doug
authors: D
authors: Brugge
authors: John L
authors: JL
authors: Durant
authors: Christine
authors: C
authors: Rioux
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D016021:Epidemiologic Studies; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology; D018570:Risk Assessment; D001335:Vehicle Emissions / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D001335:Vehicle Emissions
references: Environ Health Perspect. 2003 Sep;111(12):1512-8
references: 12948892
references: Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 1995 Mar;151(3 Pt 1):669-74
references: 7881654
references: JAMA. 2002 Mar 6;287(9):1132-41
references: 11879110
references: Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2000 Oct;162(4 Pt 1):1383-90
references: 11029349
references: Occup Environ Med. 2005 Jun;62(6):376-80
references: 15901884
references: J Epidemiol Community Health. 2005 Jun;59(6):481-7
references: 15911644
references: Eur Respir J. 2003 Jun;21(6):956-63
references: 12797488
references: Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2006 Mar 15;173(6):667-72
references: 16424447
references: Eur Respir J. 2007 May;29(5):879-88
references: 17251230
references: Environ Health Perspect. 2007 Jan;115(1):53-7
references: 17366819
references: Epidemiology. 1997 May;8(3):298-303
references: 9115026
references: JAMA. 2005 Dec 21;294(23):3003-10
references: 16414948
references: Environ Health Perspect. 1998 Dec;106(12):813-22
references: 9831542
references: Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2001 Jan;74(1):1-8
references: 11196075
references: Environ Health Perspect. 2007 Jul;115(7):1072-80
references: 17637925
references: J Asthma. 2005 Jun;42(5):337-48
references: 16036408
references: Lancet. 2002 Oct 19;360(9341):1203-9
references: 12401246
references: Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2004 Apr 15;169(8):934-40
references: 14962820
references: J Air Waste Manag Assoc. 2006 Jun;56(6):709-42
references: 16805397
references: Eur Heart J. 2006 Nov;27(22):2696-702
references: 17003049
references: Epidemiology. 2005 Nov;16(6):727-36
references: 16222161
references: Cancer Causes Control. 2004 May;15(4):331-9
references: 15141134
references: Environ Health Perspect. 2006 May;114(5):766-72
references: 16675435
references: Environ Health Perspect. 2003 Dec;111(16):1861-70
references: 14644658
references: N Engl J Med. 1993 Dec 9;329(24):1753-9
references: 8179653
references: Epidemiology. 2007 Jan;18(1):95-103
references: 17149139
references: Environ Res. 2005 Jun;98(2):240-9
references: 15820731
references: Environ Health Perspect. 2005 Aug;113(8):934-46
references: 16079061
references: Epidemiology. 2000 Sep;11(5):487-95
references: 10955399
references: Lancet. 2002 Oct 19;360(9341):1233-42
references: 12401268
references: Environ Health Perspect. 2005 Feb;113(2):201-6
references: 15687058
references: Arch Environ Health. 1997 May-Jun;52(3):160-8
references: 9169624
references: Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 1999 Mar;159(3):760-7
references: 10051248
references: Lancet. 2007 Feb 17;369(9561):571-7
references: 17307103
references: Am J Public Health. 2006 Mar;96(3):499-504
references: 16449576
references: Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2004 Sep 1;170(5):520-6
references: 15184208
references: Clin Exp Allergy. 2005 Oct;35(10):1279-87
references: 16238786
references: Environ Health Perspect. 2005 Nov;113(11):1485-90
references: 16263500
references: BMJ. 1993 Sep 4;307(6904):596-600
references: 7691304
references: Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2005 Mar;78(2):164-9
references: 15726395
references: Epidemiology. 2005 Nov;16(6):737-43
references: 16222162
references: J Toxicol Environ Health A. 2005 Jul 9-23;68(13-14):1207-42
references: 16024499
references: Occup Environ Med. 2000 Mar;57(3):152-8
references: 10810096
references: Environ Health Perspect. 2007 Feb;115(2):278-84
references: 17384778
references: N Engl J Med. 2004 Dec 16;351(25):2652-3; author reply 2652-3
references: 15609418
references: Environ Health Perspect. 2006 Apr;114(4):560-6
references: 16581546
references: J Public Health Med. 1995 Mar;17(1):85-9
references: 7540398
references: Environ Res. 1997;74(1):24-33
references: 9339211
references: N Engl J Med. 2004 Oct 21;351(17):1721-30
references: 15496621
references: Thorax. 2005 Jun;60(6):467-73
references: 15923246
references: Environ Health Perspect. 2004 Jul;112(10):1063-7
references: 15238278
references: Occup Environ Med. 1999 Dec;56(12):802-12
references: 10658536
references: Circulation. 2004 Jun 1;109(21):2655-71
references: 15173049
references: Environ Health Perspect. 2005 Aug;113(8):947-55
references: 16079062
references: Inhal Toxicol. 2005 Jun-Jul;17(7-8):409-13
references: 16020037
references: J Korean Med Sci. 2005 Feb;20(1):42-5
references: 15716600
references: Int J Cancer. 2006 Jul 1;119(1):169-74
references: 16463382
references: J Air Waste Manag Assoc. 2002 Sep;52(9):1032-42
references: 12269664
references: Environ Health Perspect. 2004 Jun;112(8):932-41
references: 15175185
references: Am J Epidemiol. 2005 Mar 1;161(5):406-11
references: 15718476
references: Environ Res. 1997;74(2):122-32
references: 9339225
references: Circulation. 2004 Jan 6;109(1):71-7
references: 14676145
references: Epidemiology. 2003 Mar;14(2):228-39
references: 12606891
references: N Engl J Med. 2004 Sep 9;351(11):1057-67
references: 15356303
references: Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2005 Sep 1;207(2 Suppl):477-82
references: 15990137
references: Thorax. 2005 Jun;60(6):455-61
references: 15923244
references: Environ Res. 1993 Oct;63(1):26-38
references: 8404772
references: N Engl J Med. 2007 Feb 1;356(5):447-58
references: 17267905
references: Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2005 Mar;78(2):132-8
references: 15750819
references: Environ Health Perspect. 1999 Sep;107(9):761-7
references: 10464078
references: Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2001 Dec 15;164(12):2177-80
references: 11751183
references: Environ Health Perspect. 1996 Jul;104(7):750-4
references: 8841761
references: Environ Health Perspect. 2005 Dec;113(12):1693-7
references: 16330349
references: Thorax. 2003 Dec;58(12):1071-6
references: 14645978