title: A multicentre study of air pollution exposure and childhood asthma prevalence: the ESCAPE project.
abstract: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of six traffic-related air pollution metrics (nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter <10 μm (PM10), PM2.5, coarse particulate matter and PM2.5 absorbance) on childhood asthma and wheeze prevalence in five European birth cohorts: MAAS (England, UK), BAMSE (Sweden), PIAMA (the Netherlands), GINI and LISA (both Germany, divided into north and south areas). Land-use regression models were developed for each study area and used to estimate outdoor air pollution exposure at the home address of each child. Information on asthma and current wheeze prevalence at the ages of 4-5 and 8-10 years was collected using validated questionnaires. Multiple logistic regression was used to analyse the association between pollutant exposure and asthma within each cohort. Random-effects meta-analyses were used to combine effect estimates from individual cohorts. The meta-analyses showed no significant association between asthma prevalence and air pollution exposure (e.g. adjusted OR (95%CI) for asthma at age 8-10 years and exposure at the birth address (n=10377): 1.10 (0.81-1.49) per 10 μg · m(-3) nitrogen dioxide; 0.88 (0.63-1.24) per 10 μg · m(-3) PM10; 1.23 (0.78-1.95) per 5 μg · m(-3) PM2.5). This result was consistently found in initial crude models, adjusted models and further sensitivity analyses. This study found no significant association between air pollution exposure and childhood asthma prevalence in five European birth cohorts.
authors.affiliation: For a list of the authors' affiliations see the Acknowledgements section anna.molter@colostate.edu.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mölter
authors.affiliation: For a list of the authors' affiliations see the Acknowledgements section.
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Simpson
authors.affiliation: For a list of the authors' affiliations see the Acknowledgements section.
authors.forename: Dietrich
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Berdel
authors.affiliation: For a list of the authors' affiliations see the Acknowledgements section.
authors.forename: Bert
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Brunekreef
authors.affiliation: For a list of the authors' affiliations see the Acknowledgements section.
authors.forename: Adnan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Custovic
authors.affiliation: For a list of the authors' affiliations see the Acknowledgements section.
authors.forename: Josef
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cyrys
authors.affiliation: For a list of the authors' affiliations see the Acknowledgements section.
authors.forename: Johan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: de Jongste
authors.affiliation: For a list of the authors' affiliations see the Acknowledgements section.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: de Vocht
authors.affiliation: For a list of the authors' affiliations see the Acknowledgements section.
authors.forename: Elaine
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fuertes
authors.affiliation: For a list of the authors' affiliations see the Acknowledgements section.
authors.forename: Ulrike
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Gehring
authors.affiliation: For a list of the authors' affiliations see the Acknowledgements section.
authors.forename: Olena
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Gruzieva
authors.affiliation: For a list of the authors' affiliations see the Acknowledgements section.
authors.forename: Joachim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Heinrich
authors.affiliation: For a list of the authors' affiliations see the Acknowledgements section.
authors.forename: Gerard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hoek
authors.affiliation: For a list of the authors' affiliations see the Acknowledgements section.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hoffmann
authors.affiliation: For a list of the authors' affiliations see the Acknowledgements section.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Klümper
authors.affiliation: For a list of the authors' affiliations see the Acknowledgements section.
authors.forename: Michal
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Korek
authors.affiliation: For a list of the authors' affiliations see the Acknowledgements section.
authors.forename: Thomas A J
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Kuhlbusch
authors.affiliation: For a list of the authors' affiliations see the Acknowledgements section.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lindley
authors.affiliation: For a list of the authors' affiliations see the Acknowledgements section.
authors.forename: Dirkje
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Postma
authors.affiliation: For a list of the authors' affiliations see the Acknowledgements section.
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tischer
authors.affiliation: For a list of the authors' affiliations see the Acknowledgements section.
authors.forename: Alet
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wijga
authors.affiliation: For a list of the authors' affiliations see the Acknowledgements section.
authors.forename: Göran
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pershagen
authors.affiliation: For a list of the authors' affiliations see the Acknowledgements section.
authors.forename: Raymond
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Agius
mesh_terms: D000397:Air Pollution / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000032:analysis; D001249:Asthma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004739:England; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D019570:Inhalation Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000032:analysis; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands; D009585:Nitrogen Dioxide / Q000032:analysis; D009589:Nitrogen Oxides / Q000032:analysis; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000032:analysis; D015995:Prevalence; D012044:Regression Analysis; D013548:Sweden; D001335:Vehicle Emissions / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D009589:Nitrogen Oxides; D052638:Particulate Matter; D001335:Vehicle Emissions; D009585:Nitrogen Dioxide