Impact of traffic congestion on asthma-related hospital visits in major Texas cities.

ABSTRACT: Asthma is one of the most prevalent chronic conditions in the United States and is particularly sensitive to environmental changes in urban areas. While it is known that traffic congestion contributes to increased vehicle emissions and poorer air quality, its direct association with asthma incidence has not been thoroughly explored. This study aimed to address this void by analyzing 148 city-level observations from 2016 to 2020 in Texas, using data from the Texas A&M Transportation Institute and Definitive Healthcare. We investigated the association between traffic congestion, measured by the travel time index, and annual city-level asthma hospital discharges, while adjusting for refinery productivity, minority groups, and education levels through multivariate regression. Our findings reve

SUBMITTER: Yang M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11426448 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature