Lung Health News, Fall 2003 / Winter 2004
Kathleen Mortimer, Sc.D., MPH, wants to know how air pollution affects children with asthma. She knows it often causes them to cough and wheeze, but she wonders about the long-term consequences.
"After the asthma attack is over, is there a long-term effect on lung function?" she asks.
The researcher from the University of California, Berkeley, is conducting a separate analysis of data collected on children who were part of the Fresno Asthmatic Children's Environment Study (FACES), which examined 250 children with asthma over a five-year period. Fresno has some of the most polluted air in the nation and one of the highest asthma rates.
Asthma is an inflammatory lung disease that affects more than 2.3 million people in California. It causes the airways to become constricted, blocking the free flow of air to the lungs. While there is no cure for asthma, it can be controlled with medication and by reducing exposure to triggers that cause the airways to become irritated, including animal dander, dust mites, pollen and air pollution.
Project Examines Lifetime Air Pollution Exposure
Mortimer's project, partially funded by the American Lung Association of California, is analyzing the residential history of the FACES children and pollution levels recorded in those areas to determine the children's lifetime exposure to air pollution. She will be able to compare that with lung function data collected on the children during the course of the five-year study.
Her project is also looking at the mothers' exposure to air pollution during their pregnancies by examining where they worked and lived at the time. In an earlier study on inner-city children with asthma, Mortimer found that air pollution has a greater impact on children with asthma who were born prematurely or with low birth weight.
"Some studies suggest that exposure to air pollution during pregnancy causes low birth weights and premature births," Mortimer says. "The public health and public policy implications are quite different if air pollution is actually causing lifelong health problems beginning at birth."
More Asthma Research Needed
Scientists and researchers still don't know what causes asthma. They know what causes asthma symptoms - called asthma episodes or attacks when they are sudden and severe - but not what causes the underlying disease.
"More research is needed to identify the components of air pollution that are problematic, but it is incredibly expensive," Mortimer says.
Californians can help fund more asthma research in California by donating to the Asthma and Lung Disease Research Fund on their 2003 state income tax forms. The money goes directly to the American Lung Association of California's research program.
Mortimer's study is one of 21 research projects funded through the American Lung Association of California's research program this year. More than $725,000 was awarded through the program. For more information about other research projects, visit www.californialung.org.
