Bad Air and Asthma

There is no doubt that air pollution is one of the many factors that can aggravate asthma, whose incidence has increased by more than 40 percent since 1980, according to the CDC. Now doctors are wondering whether bad air plays a role in causing this leading chronic childhood disease. A study conducted at the University of Southern California School of Medicine last year suggests that children who exercise heavily in ozone-polluted areas may have more of a risk of developing asthma. "The jury is still out on whether air pollution causes asthma or not. If kids have asthma already there is no doubt air pollution will aggravate it," says Frank D. Gilliland, M.D., one of the investigators. "The debate is whether it can cause new-onset asthma. There is a growing body of evidence that it does, but we need more studies to understand it better."

Whether bad air is a cause or just a factor that worsens asthma, it is a widespread problem. The American Lung Association's State of the Air: 2003 report says that 137 million Americans—nearly half the nation—were living in counties with an unhealthy amount of ozone from 1999 to 2001, despite modest improvement in air quality. The report also found that 7.4 million adults and 2 million children with asthma lived in areas with unhealthy levels of ozone. (See lungusa.org.)

What You Can Do to Avoid Bad Air

*Don't let your kids exercise outdoors during high-ozone times, usually late afternoon.

*Check local air quality at www.epa.gov/airnow/where.

*For suggestions on reducing asthma triggers in indoor air, see Green Guide #21.