Children who live within 50 yards of a busy road are more likely to develop asthma, eczema and hay fever, a major new study has shown.
Researchers have found a strong link between exposure to traffic fumes in the first few years of life and a host of childhood allergies.
They say youngsters living alongside the busiest roads are 50 per cent more likely to be susceptible to allergies than those living in quieter streets.
The study suggests that Britain's allergy epidemic could be partly caused by the steep rise in cars and lorries on British roads in the last few decades.
The number of people with allergies has trebled in the last 20 years. One in three people now suffer at some point in their lives.
After taking into account the parent's own history of allergies, the number of pets in the home and the number of brothers and sisters - all factors which can cause allergies - they found a strong link between the distance to the nearest major road and hay fever, eczema and bronchitis brought on by asthma.
Children living closest to heavy traffic were 50 per cent more likely to be susceptible to allergies than those living a long way away, they report in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
Dr Joachim Heinrich, who led the study at the Institute of Epidemiology, Munich, said:
"We consistently found strong associations between the distance tot he nearest main road and the allergic disease outcomes," Dr Heinrich wrote in the
"Children living closer than 50 meters to a busy street had the highest probability of getting allergic symptoms, compared to children living further away."
Researchers have found a strong link between exposure to traffic fumes in the first few years of life and a host of childhood allergies.
They say youngsters living alongside the busiest roads are 50 per cent more likely to be susceptible to allergies than those living in quieter streets.
The study suggests that Britain's allergy epidemic could be partly caused by the steep rise in cars and lorries on British roads in the last few decades.
The number of people with allergies has trebled in the last 20 years. One in three people now suffer at some point in their lives.
After taking into account the parent's own history of allergies, the number of pets in the home and the number of brothers and sisters - all factors which can cause allergies - they found a strong link between the distance to the nearest major road and hay fever, eczema and bronchitis brought on by asthma.
Children living closest to heavy traffic were 50 per cent more likely to be susceptible to allergies than those living a long way away, they report in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
Dr Joachim Heinrich, who led the study at the Institute of Epidemiology, Munich, said:
"We consistently found strong associations between the distance tot he nearest main road and the allergic disease outcomes," Dr Heinrich wrote in the
"Children living closer than 50 meters to a busy street had the highest probability of getting allergic symptoms, compared to children living further away."
