Residence proximity to traffic-related facilities is associated with childhood asthma and rhinitis in Shandong, China.

Associations of asthma and rhinitis with residential traffic proximity were investigated in several studies, but conclusions were inconsistent. From January to April in 2015, a cross-sectional study was conducted in two cities of Shandong, China. Parents-reported questionnaires were collected from 69 kindergartens for 3-6-year-olds preschoolers. Here we investigated associations of four traffic-related facilities (main traffic road, automobile 4S shop, filling station, and ground car park) close to residence with childhood asthma and rhinitis under considering individual and residential characteristics. In the two-level (kindergarten-child) mixed-effect logistic regression analyses among 5640 children who did not change residences since birth, filling station close to residence within 100 m (reference: >200 m) was significantly associated with lifetime-ever asthma (adjusted odds ratio, 95% confidence interval: 2.63, 1.28-5.40), wheeze (2.06, 1.35-3.15), rhinitis (1.69, 1.08-2.64) and current (past 12 months prior to the survey) wheeze (2.11, 1.34-3.34) and rhinitis (1.65, 1.05-2.59). Numbers of the facilities close to residence had dose-response relationships with odds of asthma, wheeze and rhinitis symptoms. These dose-response relationships were generally stronger in children whose bedrooms were in the 1st-3rd floors, and in children with low ventilation in bedroom and kitchen, and in children from families who did not using natural gas for cooking. The similar associations were found in the sensitive analyses among all surveyed 9597 children. Our results indicate that residence close to the traffic-related facilities likely is a risk factor for the occurrence of asthma and rhinitis among preschool children. The studied associations could be modified by household ventilation and air pollutants.