There is a good deal written about the use of epidemiology to establish causality. Many believe that epidemiology provide strong and sometime unequivocal evidence of the existance of the cause of a disease, even in circumstances where the exact mechanistic agents and pathways are still murky. Smoking was established as a cause of lung cancer on the basis of epidemiology. There are many causes of asthma but many studies find that traffic pollution, particularly NO2, aggrevates asthma. Several studies like the one cited by Eloisa also found that the prevelence of asthma is higher with higher proximity to traffic and traffic air pollution. Rob McConnell at USC has done some of the best work in the field. The Health Effects Institute report on traffic proximity provides one thorough recent review. One open question is whether the causative exposure for traffic proximity studies is an agent or agent(s) in vehicle exhaust (e.g. NOx, Diesel) or something else related to the proximity of more traffic. Other exposures associated with traffic (Noise, road dust, greater time indoors). Most studies of this control for demographic and economic variables but not for these related exposures. I plan to look at the recent study more closely. Rajiv Rajiv Bhatia, MD | Director | Environmental Health | SFDPH | 4152523931 From: mbrenman001(a)comcast.net To: TRB Health and Transportation <h+t--friends(a)chrispy.net> Date: 03/22/2013 11:46 PM Subject: Re: [H+T--Friends] LA Times: "It's official: Traffic pollution can cause asthma in children" Sent by: h+t--friends-bounces(a)chrispy.net Whenever I've looked at asthma and causes, I've found studies that attributed it to a wide multitude of causes. "Attributed to" is not the same as "causality." I almost never find an epidemiologist who is willing to say that insult A causes disease B. Marc Brenman mbrenman001(a)comcast.net From: "Lawrence Frank" <lawrence.frank(a)ubc.ca> To: "TRB Health and Transportation" <h+t--friends(a)chrispy.net> Cc: h+t--friends(a)chrispy.net Sent: Friday, March 22, 2013 1:10:54 PM Subject: Re: [H+T--Friends] LA Times: "It's official: Traffic pollution can cause asthma in children" Hi Eloisa - Thanks for sending this. Great to see more evidence from other places on this topic. However, I think the California study referred to by the reporter was a pretty solid piece of research - was not involved with it but recall it was not anecdotal at all. As many know - Walkability is often highly correlated with increased concentrations of small particulates - a troublesome but solvable twist to the otherwise health benefits of more compact development. Larry Sent from my iPhone On Mar 22, 2013, at 11:45 AM, "Eloisa Raynault" <eloisa.raynault(a)apha.org> wrote: This article in the LA Times may be of interest to you: http://goo.gl/QZwvo Researchers in Europe have confirmed scientifically what parents in traffic-congested Southern California have known anecdotally for years: Poor air quality associated with busy roads can cause asthma in children. The study, which examined children’s health in 10 cities, concluded that 14% of chronic childhood asthma cases could be attributed to near-road traffic pollution. It is the first time that medical researchers have made such a direct link — previous studies stopped at saying that traffic pollution is known to trigger asthma, not cause it. Eloisa Raynault | American Public Health Association | 800 I Street NW, Washington DC 20001 | Transportation, Health and Equity Program Manager | o: 202-777-2487 | http://apha.org/transportation Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail. _______________________________________________ H+T--Friends mailing list H+T--Friends(a)ryoko.chrispy.net http://ryoko.chrispy.net/mailman/listinfo/h+t--friends _______________________________________________ H+T--Friends mailing list H+T--Friends(a)ryoko.chrispy.net http://ryoko.chrispy.net/mailman/listinfo/h+t--friends _______________________________________________ H+T--Friends mailing list H+T--Friends(a)ryoko.chrispy.net http://ryoko.chrispy.net/mailman/listinfo/h+t--friends

Most public health practitioners, epiemiologists includged, are not active or adept in using existing legal and regulatory mechanisms to achieve public health goals. Those that do participate are usually working for industry. An unfortunate fact but one that does not affect cause and effect relationships. Rajiv Bhatia, MD | Director | Environmental Health | SFDPH | 4152523931 From: mbrenman001(a)comcast.net To: TRB Health and Transportation <h+t--friends(a)chrispy.net> Cc: Rajiv.Bhatia(a)sfdph.org Date: 03/25/2013 02:34 PM Subject: Re: [H+T--Friends] LA Times: "It's official: Traffic pollution can cause asthma in children" I don't know of a single US federal court decision in an environmental justice or other civil rights case where an epidemiologist testified that a given environmental insult X caused a given adverse impact Y, and where that testimony was probative. I'd love to know of any. Marc Brenman mbrenman001(a)comcast.net From: "Rajiv Bhatia" <Rajiv.Bhatia(a)sfdph.org> To: "TRB Health and Transportation" <h+t--friends(a)chrispy.net> Sent: Monday, March 25, 2013 12:16:52 PM Subject: Re: [H+T--Friends] LA Times: "It's official: Traffic pollution can cause asthma in children" There is a good deal written about the use of epidemiology to establish causality. Many believe that epidemiology provide strong and sometime unequivocal evidence of the existance of the cause of a disease, even in circumstances where the exact mechanistic agents and pathways are still murky. Smoking was established as a cause of lung cancer on the basis of epidemiology. There are many causes of asthma but many studies find that traffic pollution, particularly NO2, aggrevates asthma. Several studies like the one cited by Eloisa also found that the prevelence of asthma is higher with higher proximity to traffic and traffic air pollution. Rob McConnell at USC has done some of the best work in the field. The Health Effects Institute report on traffic proximity provides one thorough recent review. One open question is whether the causative exposure for traffic proximity studies is an agent or agent(s) in vehicle exhaust (e.g. NOx, Diesel) or something else related to the proximity of more traffic. Other exposures associated with traffic (Noise, road dust, greater time indoors). Most studies of this control for demographic and economic variables but not for these related exposures. I plan to look at the recent study more closely. Rajiv Rajiv Bhatia, MD | Director | Environmental Health | SFDPH | 4152523931 From: mbrenman001(a)comcast.net To: TRB Health and Transportation <h+t--friends(a)chrispy.net> Date: 03/22/2013 11:46 PM Subject: Re: [H+T--Friends] LA Times: "It's official: Traffic pollution can cause asthma in children" Sent by: h+t--friends-bounces(a)chrispy.net Whenever I've looked at asthma and causes, I've found studies that attributed it to a wide multitude of causes. "Attributed to" is not the same as "causality." I almost never find an epidemiologist who is willing to say that insult A causes disease B. Marc Brenman mbrenman001(a)comcast.net From: "Lawrence Frank" <lawrence.frank(a)ubc.ca> To: "TRB Health and Transportation" <h+t--friends(a)chrispy.net> Cc: h+t--friends(a)chrispy.net Sent: Friday, March 22, 2013 1:10:54 PM Subject: Re: [H+T--Friends] LA Times: "It's official: Traffic pollution can cause asthma in children" Hi Eloisa - Thanks for sending this. Great to see more evidence from other places on this topic. However, I think the California study referred to by the reporter was a pretty solid piece of research - was not involved with it but recall it was not anecdotal at all. As many know - Walkability is often highly correlated with increased concentrations of small particulates - a troublesome but solvable twist to the otherwise health benefits of more compact development. Larry Sent from my iPhone On Mar 22, 2013, at 11:45 AM, "Eloisa Raynault" <eloisa.raynault(a)apha.org> wrote: This article in the LA Times may be of interest to you: http://goo.gl/QZwvo Researchers in Europe have confirmed scientifically what parents in traffic-congested Southern California have known anecdotally for years: Poor air quality associated with busy roads can cause asthma in children. The study, which examined children’s health in 10 cities, concluded that 14% of chronic childhood asthma cases could be attributed to near-road traffic pollution. It is the first time that medical researchers have made such a direct link — previous studies stopped at saying that traffic pollution is known to trigger asthma, not cause it. Eloisa Raynault | American Public Health Association | 800 I Street NW, Washington DC 20001 | Transportation, Health and Equity Program Manager | o: 202-777-2487 | http://apha.org/transportation Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail. _______________________________________________ H+T--Friends mailing list H+T--Friends(a)ryoko.chrispy.net http://ryoko.chrispy.net/mailman/listinfo/h+t--friends _______________________________________________ H+T--Friends mailing list H+T--Friends(a)ryoko.chrispy.net http://ryoko.chrispy.net/mailman/listinfo/h+t--friends _______________________________________________ H+T--Friends mailing list H+T--Friends(a)ryoko.chrispy.net http://ryoko.chrispy.net/mailman/listinfo/h+t--friends _______________________________________________ H+T--Friends mailing list H+T--Friends(a)ryoko.chrispy.net http://ryoko.chrispy.net/mailman/listinfo/h+t--friends