Air pollution linked to asthma in young athletes
Date: 01-Feb-02
Country: UK
A study by researchers at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California showed that ozone can contribute to asthma - the most chronic disease in children.
"This research suggests that contrary to conventional wisdom, ozone is involved in the causation of asthma," Rob McConnell, an associate professor of preventive medicine at the university, said in a statement.
Reducing levels of ozone is the ideal solution, but McConnell said limiting prolonged outdoor activity of children when air pollution levels are high could help.
The study published in the Lancet medical journal involved about 3,500 children ranging in age from nine to 16 who had no history of asthma.
The researchers questioned the youngsters about what sports they played and monitored levels of air pollution in their communities. The communities were then divided into low and high pollution areas.
After five years, 265 children were diagnosed with asthma. Overall, the sporty children were more likely to develop the disease.
In communities with high levels of pollution, the risk increased with the number of sports the children played.
"Somewhat to our surprise, in low-ozone communities we found no increased risk of asthma in children who played team sports," said McConnell.
The researchers believe that active youngsters in highly polluted communities are taking higher doses of ozone into their lungs because they breathe rapidly and deeply.
"They're breathing more ozone than a kid sitting in front of a TV inside the house," McConnell explained.