Recently in The Lancet a paper was published that presents evidence that kids who live with 500 yards of a highway have less lung function as an adult. The study collected data from over 3000 kids in southern California for a period of 8 years. Air pollution from traffic apparently keeps their lungs from developing properly. Decreased lung functioning at a younger age increases the chances of respiratory and cardiovascular disease later on in life.

Another report in the New England Journal of Medicine indicates that the risk of heart disease such as strokes and heart attacks is greatly increased in women who are exposed to fine particulate air pollution. This type of pollution is made of very tiny particles and comes from the burning of fossil fuels. It is not yet known how these particles result in such problems but it may be due to them causing inflammation in the blood vessels and the lungs - which could then lead to the build up of fatty deposits in the arteries.

Data from a paper in Lung Cancer suggests that more money and effort should be put into research in lung cancer in women. More women die from lung cancer than other types of cancer such as breast, ovarian and uterine. Due to smoking being more common in men and women in the past, men’s rate of lung cancer was higher, but now it is increasing in women. It is believed that women might be more susceptible to carcinogens in smoke from tobacco than men are. In the past more lung cancer research was focused on just men. It is now also known that women respond to treatment for lung cancer differently from men. Clearly, much more research needs to be completed to fully understand lung disease in women and how if differs from men.

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