TRIP

Traffic-related asthma costs two cities big money

Reuters Health News, 2012

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Traffic pollution may cost two California cities millions each year in managing children's asthma, a new study suggests.
The findings suggest that "the real costs of this pollution are substantial," said lead researcher Sylvia J.
Researchers estimate that the annual cost of traffic-related asthma symptoms in the two cities -- Long Beach and Riverside -- totals about $18 million.
That's considering the direct costs of medical care, as well as indirect expenses like kids' school absences and parents' time off from work.
The figure is an estimate, based on government cost data and past research on the number of childhood asthma cases linked to traffic pollution.
And other communities' costs would vary widely depending on, among other things, the amount of traffic near homes and schools.
As an example, Brandt said that dozens of communities in Massachusetts have higher asthma rates than those seen in the two California cities -- where an estimated 13 percent to 15 percent of kids younger than 18 have asthma.
Springfield, for one, has an asthma prevalence of 18 percent, and it's surrounded by major highways, she noted.
But rates are higher among poor, minority kids; 16 percent of low-income black children have asthma, according to the U.S.
But, Brandt pointed out, there's growing evidence that traffic pollution may not only trigger symptoms in kids who already have asthma, but may also boost the odds of developing asthma.
A number of studies have found that the closer a child lives to heavily traveled roads, the higher the asthma risk -- even when controlling for other factors like family income.