According to the scientists, children that are being brought up alongside freeways are at considerable risk of having their lung development impaired, which may increase the probability of severe respiratory disorders in their future life.
Other research has demonstrated that children living next to highways are at greater risk of developing respiratory problems, including asthma. However, this is the first research to prove that long exposure to car and truck exhaust negatively influences the growth of the lungs, and therefore their capacity.
The findings are published in the January 26 online issue of The Lancet.
"Exposure from tailpipe emissions from motor vehicles prospectively carries serious health risks to children’s lung development," said lead scientist, James Gauderman, an assistant professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. "We discovered that children who live closer to freeways had considerably less lung capacity, in comparison to children who lived further from freeways."
How the research was conducted
In the research, Gauderman and his team observed 3 677 children for the period of eight years, tracking their lung development. The children were 10 years old at the outset of the research, and came from twelve southern California communities. The air quality varied in each community.
The scientists discovered that lung growth in kids who lived within 500 meters of a freeway (about a quarter of a mile) was considerably less than children who lived 1 500 meters or more from a freeway.
Gauderman’s team also discovered that exposure to freeways and regional air pollution had negative and independent influence on the growth of lung function. Furthermore, there was a noteworthy decrease in percentage of expected lung function among 18-year-old participants who lived within 500 meters of a freeway.
