Dirty business

About 5% of adults and 8-10% of children in the UK have asthma. Much media attention has been given to the effects on health of air pollution and it is a matter of common conjecture that the rising levels of traffic and resultant emissions are directly responsible for the simultaneous rise in the incidence of asthma. Undoubtedly there has been a significant rise in the number of admissions to hospital for asthma episodes in the UK over the past decade and this is demonstrably synchronous with a rise in the atmospheric levels of air pollution (Department of Health, 1995). This article questions whether there is research evidence that air pollution is responsible for this rise, and whether any such evidence can be used by nurses advising patients.