Highway Exhaust Stunts Lung Growth, Study Finds

A new study suggests that children who grow up within a third of a mile of a freeway may be sustaining permanent respiratory problems. Researchers found that the closer the children lived to a freeway, the more likely they were to experience reduced growth in lung function as measured by the standard tests. The findings were published online Friday by the British journal Lancet. Growth of lung strength and capacity, the researchers write, is largely complete by age 18, and this means that a child with a deficit at that age will probably suffer lifelong diminished lung function. To determine lung function, the scientists used standard tests that measure how much air a child can exhale during a forced expiration and how forcefully he can do so. Normally, these numbers gradually increase as children grow. The children were tested an average of six times over the eight years of the study.

full article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/30/health/30lung.html?_r=1&ref=health&oref=slogin