Environmental health perspectives
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Environ. Health Perspect. · Feb 2010
Effect of early life exposure to air pollution on development of childhood asthma.
There is increasing recognition of the importance of early environmental exposures in the development of childhood asthma. Outdoor air pollution is a recognized asthma trigger, but it is unclear whether exposure influences incident disease. We investigated the effect of exposure to ambient air pollution in utero and during the first year of life on risk of subsequent asthma diagnosis in a population-based nested case-control study. ⋯ A total of 3,482 children (9%) were classified as asthma cases. We observed a statistically significantly increased risk of asthma diagnosis with increased early life exposure to CO, NO, NO2, PM10, SO2, and black carbon and proximity to point sources. Traffic-related pollutants were associated with the highest risks: adjusted odds ratio = 1.08 (95% confidence interval, 1.041.12) for a 10-microg/m3 increase of NO, 1.12 (1.071.17) for a 10-microg/m3 increase in NO2, and 1.10 (1.061.13) for a 100-microg/m3 increase in CO. These data support the hypothesis that early childhood exposure to air pollutants plays a role in development of asthma.
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Environ. Health Perspect. · Nov 2009
Multicenter StudySaliva cortisol and exposure to aircraft noise in six European countries.
Several studies show an association between exposure to aircraft or road traffic noise and cardiovascular effects, which may be mediated by a noise-induced release of stress hormones. ⋯ Our results suggest that exposure to aircraft noise increases morning saliva cortisol levels in women, which could be of relevance for noise-related cardiovascular effects.