Lifetime prevalences of physician-diagnosed asthma and of typical symptoms of asthma were compared to air monitoring station data for temperature, relative humidity, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, ozone, carbon monoxide, and PM10. A total of 331,686 nonsmoking children attended schools located within 2 km of 55 stations. Asthma prevalence rates adjusted for age, history of atopic eczema, and parental education were associated with nonsummer (June-August) temperature, winter (January-March) humidity, and traffic-related air pollution, especially carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides, for both girls and boys. Nonsummer temperature, winter humidity, and traffic-related air pollution, especially carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides, were positively associated with the prevalence of asthma in middle-school students in Taiwan.

URL: http://www.ehponline.org/members/1999/107p1001-1006guo/guo-full.html