Exposure to traffic: lung function and health status in adults with asthma.
BACKGROUND
Exposure to traffic has been associated with asthma outcomes in children, but its effect on asthma in adults has not been well studied.


OBJECTIVE
To test the hypothesis that lung function and health status are associated with traffic exposures.


METHODS
We measured FEV(1) % predicted, general health status using the Physical Component Scale of the 12-item Short Form (SF-12 PCS), and quality of life (QoL) using the Marks Asthma Quality of Life questionnaire in a cohort of adults with asthma or rhinitis (n = 176; 145 with asthma). We assessed exposures to traffic by geocoding subjects' residential addresses and assigning distance to roadways. Associations between distance to nearest roadway and distance to nearest major roadway and FEV(1) % predicted or SF-12 PCS were studied by using linear regression.


RESULTS
FEV(1) % predicted was positively associated with distance from both nearest roadway (P = .01) and nearest major roadway (P = .02). SF-12 PCS and QoL were not significantly associated with either traffic variable. Adjustment for income, smoking, and obesity did not substantively change the associations of the traffic variables with FEV(1) % predicted (P = .04 for nearest roadway and P = .02 for nearest major roadway) and did not cause associations with either SF-12 PCS or QoL to become significant.


CONCLUSIONS
Traffic exposure was associated with decreased lung function in adults with asthma.
Balmes
John R
JR
Department of Medicine, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, Calif 94143-0843, USA. john.balmes@ucsf.edu
Earnest
Gillian
G
Katz
Patricia P
PP
Yelin
Edward H
EH
Eisner
Mark D
MD
Chen
Hubert
H
Trupin
Laura
L
Lurmann
Fred
F
Blanc
Paul D
PD
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002140:California / Q000453:epidemiology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005260:Female; D005541:Forced Expiratory Volume; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008168:Lung / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D001335:Vehicle Emissions / Q000633:toxicity*; D055815:Young Adult
D001335:Vehicle Emissions