Impact of Traffic Flow on the Asthma Prevalence Among School Children in Lima, Peru

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the impact of traffic flow on the prevalence of asthma among school children of 6 to 7 and 13 to 14-years of age. METHODS: A cross-sectional study consisting of 5,917 children selected in schools of the Cone Norte of Lima, Peru. RESULTS: For the 6- to 7-year age group the prevalence of medical diagnosis of asthma according to the traffic flow index was 8.6% (CI: 6.8-10.8), 10.3% (CI: 8.4-12.4), and 15.3% (CI:13.3-17.5) at low, medium and high, respectively, and for the 13- to 14-year age group, 11.9% (CI: 9.4-14.6), 13.3% (CI: 11.6-15.2), and 17.1% (CI: 14.7-19.6). CONCLUSIONS: For both groups, the prevalence of asthma was significantly related to traffic flow density.