According to research out of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care, improved air quality in the U.S. cities since the 1990s may not be enough to ensure normal lung function in children.
The researchers note that, “by age eight, children living within 100 meters of a major roadway had lung function that was on average six percent lower than that of children living 400 meters or more away.”
The study was conducted with 614 children born to mothers enrolled in what is known as Project Viva in Eastern Massachusetts between 1999 and 2002.
The researchers noted, “These important findings are from a novel study combining modern modeling of exposures to air pollution with robust measurements of lung function, conducted in a community with pollutant levels now under EPA standards,” they said. “This adds to the urgency for more work to understand the impacts of these low-level exposures on human health.”
The research may point you towards buying or renting a house further away from major roadways.
Razi Berry, Founder and Publisher of Naturopathic Doctor News & Review (ndnr.com) and NaturalPath (thenatpath.com), has spent the last decade as a natural medicine advocate and marketing whiz. She has galvanized and supported the naturopathic community, bringing a higher quality of healthcare to millions of North Americans through her publications. A self-proclaimed health-food junkie and mother of two; she loves all things nature, is obsessed with organic gardening, growing fruit trees (not easy in Phoenix), laughing until she snorts, and homeschooling. She is a little bit crunchy and yes, that is her real name.
