West Side
The West Side’s Asthma Epidemic
Years of academic research has convincingly demonstrated alarmingly high rates of asthma on Buffalo’s West Side.
A study conducted by Dr. Lwebuga- Mukasa, professor of Medicine at the University of Buffalo found that nearly 45% of West Side households reported at least one case of chronic respiratory illness or asthma. The study also shows there was no significant difference in the odds of having asthma on Buffalo’s West Side even after correcting for race/ethnicity, household triggers of asthma, and socioeconomic factors indicating the cause is the outdoor environment. Additionally, the New York State Department of Health operates a Cancer Registry which shows that incidence of both lung and bronchus cancers were elevated for residents of the zip code closest to the Peace Bridge.
The Clean Air Coalition has been working with residents on the West Side surrounding air quality issues. There are many misconceptions as to why so many people have asthma, but no-one is talking about the fact that 5 thousand trucks, and 20 thousand cars pass through the West Side everyday. That’s 5 thousand trucks emitting tons of diesel exhaust a day, exhaust that we know has 40 known toxic chemicals in it.
In order to improve health outcomes on Buffalo’s West Side, the public and policy makers must be educated and mobilized to implement effective public policy.
West Side Air Quality Studies:
BY: Tonny J. Oyana, PhD, Peter Rogerson, PhD, and Jamson S. Lwebuga-Mukasa, MD, PhD
- Risk Factors for Asthma Prevalence and Chronic Respiratory Illnesses among Residents of Different Neighbourhoods in Buffalo, New York
Author(s): Jamson S. Lwebuga-Mukasa, Tonny J. Oyana and Paulette Wydro
Source: Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health (1979-), Vol. 58, No. 11 (Nov., 2004)
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