One in 5 child asthma cases a year linked to car fumes

ONE in five cases of childhood asthma in the UK is linked to road traffic pollution, a study has found.

Exposure to nitrogen dioxide – largely from cars, vans and lorries and particularly diesel vehicles – is estimated to be responsible for 38,000 new cases of childhood asthma in the UK each year.

Researchers found that 19 per cent of cases in youngsters aged one to 18 in the UK can be attributed to nitrogen dioxide pollution.

This rose to 29 per cent in London, where pollution levels are highest. The global study ranked the UK the 24th worst out of 194 countries for this type of pollution, one place worse than the US.

Charities warned that the findings by US researchers were further evidence that toxic fumes are putting tens of thousands of children at risk of potenment tially deadly asthma attacks. Dr Samantha Walker, of Asthma UK, said: ‘Polluted air is a major threat to public health, affecting an estimated half a million children with asthma in the UK and putting them at risk of having a potentially life-threatening asthma attack.

‘Worryingly, this study confirms existing research which shows that children who are breathing in toxic air from traffic fumes have stunted lung growth and are at risk of developing asthma.’

Childhood asthma cases have risen steadily since the 1950s, making it one of the most common diseases among children worldwide. Experts are divided as to what causes people to become asthmatic, but they agree that exposure to air pollution in childhood increases the risk by damaging the lungs.

While various pollutants in traffic air pollution could be responsible, previous research suggests exposure to nitrogen dioxide could be key.

In the latest study, published in The Lancet Planetary Health journal, researchers from George Washington University used global data on nitrogen dioxide concentration and asthma incidence to estimate the number of new cases that could be related to traffic pollution.

South Korea came top with 31 per cent of new diagnoses linked to nitrogen dioxide exposure, followed by Kuwait (30 per cent), Qatar (30 per cent), the United Arab Emirates (30 per cent) and Bahrain (26 per cent).

India, which some might expect to have worse nitrogen dioxide levels than the UK, was in 58th place, although levels of other pollutants such as particin ulate matter, ozone and carbon monoxide, would be higher, the authors suggest.

In the UK, there were 38,000 new diagnoses a year – the equivalent of 280 per 100,000 children – compared with 26,000 France, 23,000 in Germany and 12,000 in Italy.

The latest findings will be of particular concern as the UK has one of the worst asthma mortality rates in Europe, despite two- thirds of cases being considered preventable. NHS data shows there were an estimated 1,500 asthma deaths last year among all age groups.

The findings come in the week London introduced an UltraLow Emission Zone to tackle pollution. Drivers of diesel cars and vans over four years old – and most petrol cars and vans over 13 years old – are being charged £12.50 a day to travel in central London, on top of the £11.50 congestion charge.

‘Polluted air puts lives at risk’