residential exposure to motor vehicle emissions and the risk of wheezing among 7-8 year-old schoolchildren a city-wide cross-sectional study in nicosia, cyprus住宅暴露在机动车排放和喘息的风险在全市7 - 8岁的学童在尼科西亚横断面研究,塞浦路斯.pdfVIP

Middleton et al. Environmental Health 2010, 9:28 /content/9/1/28 R E S E A R C H Open Access Research Residential exposure to motor vehicle emissions and the risk of wheezing among 7-8 year-old schoolchildren: a city-wide cross-sectional study in Nicosia, Cyprus 1 2 3 4 2 2 Nicos Middleton* , Panayiotis Yiallouros , Nicolaos Nicolaou , Savvas Kleanthous , Spiros Pipis , Maria Zeniou , Philip Demokritou5 and Petros Koutrakis5 Abstract Background: Several studies have reported associations between respiratory outcomes in children and a range of self- reported, administrative or geographical indicators of traffic pollution. First-time investigation into the frequency of asthmatic symptoms among 7-8 year-old Cypriot children in 1999-2000 showed increased prevalence in the capital Nicosia compared to other areas. Geographical differences on an island the size of Cyprus may reflect environmental and/or lifestyle factors. This study investigates the relationship between self-reported symptoms and residential exposure to motor vehicle emissions among Nicosia schoolchildren. Methods: The addresses of children in the metropolitan area of Nicosia who participated in the original survey (N = 1,735) were geo-coded and the level of exposure of each child was assessed using distance- and emission-based indicators (i.e. estimated levels of particulate matter and nitrogen oxides emissions due to motor vehicles on main roads around the residence). Odds ratios of wheezing and asthma diagnosis in relation to levels of exposure were estimated in logistic regression models adjusting for person-based factors, co-morbidity and intra-school clustering. Results: We found an increased risk of wheezing at dis