Children may be at greater risk of severe asthma attacks if they're exposed to nitrogen dioxide air pollution before they suffer a viral infection from flu or the common cold.
That's the conclusion of a British study in the June 7 issue of the journal The Lancet.
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Sources of nitrogen dioxide pollution include vehicle exhaust and gas cookers. Previous research suggested a link between respiratory disease and exposure to air pollution nitrogen dioxide. And it's known that viral infections exacerbate asthma.
Research methodology
The new study by researchers at St Mary's Hospital in Portsmouth, England, included 114 asthmatic children, ages eight to 11 years, from families where there were no smokers. The researchers made daily records of the children's upper respiratory tract symptoms, such as runny nose, sneezing and headache.
They also kept daily track of the children's asthma symptoms - coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath - and measured their weekly exposures to nitrogen dioxide.
Exposure to nitrogen dioxide has detrimental effect
The study found that children who had more exposure to nitrogen dioxide were more likely to report more severe respiratory tract symptoms which, in turn, were associated with exacerbated asthma symptoms the week after the children had a viral infection.
The findings suggest that health costs associated with treating acute asthma exacerbations could be reduced by controlling nitrogen dioxide pollution, the study says. - (HealthScout News)
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