Associations of particulate matter, gaseous pollutants, and road traffic noise with the prevalence of asthma in children

The purposes of this study were to elucidate the associations between exposure to particulate matter, gaseous pollutants, and road traffic noise and asthma prevalence and to determine the interaction between exposure to multiple pollutants and asthma in children. A total of 3,246 children were recruited from 11 kindergartens in New Taipei City, Taiwan. Land use regression (LUR) was used to establish predictive models for estimating individual exposure levels of particulate matter, gaseous pollutants, and the 24 h A-weighted equivalent sound pressure level (L_Aeq,24). Multiple logistic regression was performed to test the associations between exposure to these environmental factors and asthma prevalence in children. Multiple-exposure models revealed that an interquartile-range (IQR) increase in PM_2.5 (1.17 μg/m³) and PM₁₀ (10.69 μg/m³) caused a 1.34-fold (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.05–1.70) and 1.17-fold (95% CI = 1.01–1.36) increase in risk of asthma prevalence in children after adjusting for L_Aeq,24 and NO₂. Co-exposure to PM_2.5, L_Aeq,24, and O₃, SO₂, or CO, as well as co-exposure to PM₁₀, L_Aeq,24, and CO produced similar findings. Only exposure to one IQR of SO₂ (0.15 ppb) was observed a significant association (odds ratio = 1.16, 95% CI = 1.00–1.34) with the asthma prevalence in children after adjusting for PM₁₀ and L_Aeq,24. Exposure to PM_2.5, PM₁₀, and SO₂ may be associated with a higher asthma prevalence in children, while other gaseous pollutants and road traffic noise did not demonstrate significant associations. The interaction of exposure to air pollutants and road traffic noise on asthma prevalence in children was not observed in this study.