A new study released by USC finds the impact of air pollution on childhood asthma has likely been long underestimated.
About 6 percent of all childhood asthma cases in Riverside and 9 percent in Long Beach can be attributed to proximity to heavy traffic corridors according to the study, which appeared in an online edition of the American Journal of Public Health.
"The traditional approach to estimating the burden of air pollution- related disease has markedly underestimated the true effect," Rob McConnell, professor of preventive medicine at the Keck School of Medicine at USC said.
"Our results indicate that there is a substantial proportion of childhood asthma that may be caused by living within 75 meters of a major road in Long Beach and Riverside," McConnell said.
According to the research, about 1,600 cases of childhood asthma in Long Beach and 690 in Riverside could be linked to living near a major road.
