14 DAY TRIAL // Premiere study links diesel fumes to child health conditions for the first time, after Mexican researchers at the Institute Nacional de Sauld Publica conducted a survey of some 147 asthmatic test subjects in Mexico City, aged 6 through 14. The results of the analysis showed that toxic fumes, generated by traffic pollution, adversely affected asthmatic sufferers and caused the escalation of symptoms associated with this disease.
Pollutants coming from exhaust pipes can cause an increase in the amount of medication that asthmatic children use to soothe their condition. During the study, parents were asked to observe how their kids' conditions evolved over a few weeks. In the meantime, scientists also measured the concentration of atmospheric pollution in both the areas where the 147 children lived, as well as in neighborhoods housing the 50 non-asthmatic kids who were a part of the control group.
An interesting discovery, presented in the study, was the fact that diesel fuel seemed to affect asthma symptoms to a much higher degree than other types of fuel, such as gasoline, for instance. On the other hand, healthy children exhibited a higher degree of sensibility to nitrogen dioxide, which caused them to cough more often. Asthma sufferers showed more coughing, wheezing and medication usage when subjected to fumes caused by diesel engines.
"These results have significant implications for public health policy within cities in Mexico and the rest of the world," said study leader, Dr Isabelle Romieu. She added that, given the fact that many schools were built next to roads with heavy traffic, her finds should prompt authorities to take immediate actions, so as to prevent respiratory diseases from infecting even more children. Especially when they're young, kids are most vulnerable to such influences. Overall, they are among the worst affected by pollution, next to the elderly.