Particulate matter exposures and adult-onset asthma and COPD in the Nurses' Health Study

Exposure to ambient air pollution has been associated with acute respiratory effects, including acute exacerbations of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) [1, 2]. However, evidence on the association of long-term exposure to air pollution and incidence of asthma or COPD is limited, with most studies focused on asthma in children [3]. Among adults, recent reviews for both asthma [3] and COPD [4] discuss several studies that demonstrate either no increased risk or a suggestion of risk associated with traffic-related pollutants. With few exceptions [5–7], most have not used robust exposure assessments, large cohorts or fine-particulate exposures. Using previously validated spatiotemporal exposure models [8], we examined the association between long-term exposure to particulate matter (PM) air pollution and incident cases of adult-onset asthma and COPD from 1992 to 2000 in the US Nurses' Health Study (NHS). In the NHS cohort, lack of strong evidence for long-term PM association with adult-onset asthma and COPD <http://ow.ly/960A300pUSA> We thank the participants and staff of the Nurses' Health Study for their valuable contributions.