The purposes of this study were to elucidate the associations between exposure to
particulate matter, gaseous
pollutants, and road traffic noise and
asthma prevalence and to determine the interaction between exposure to multiple
pollutants and
asthma in children. A total of 3,246 children were recruited from 11 kindergartens in New Taipei City, Taiwan. Land use regression (LUR) was used to establish predictive models for estimating individual exposure levels of
particulate matter, gaseous
pollutants, and the 24 h A-weighted equivalent sound pressure level (LAeq,24). Multiple logistic regression was performed to test the associations between exposure to these environmental factors and
asthma prevalence in children. Multiple-exposure models revealed that an interquartile-range (IQR) increase in PM2.5 (1.17 μg/m3) and PM10 (10.69 μg/m3) caused a 1.34-fold (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.05-1.70) and 1.17-fold (95% CI = 1.01-1.36) increase in risk of
asthma prevalence in children after adjusting for LAeq,24 and NO2. Co-exposure to PM2.5, LAeq,24, and O3, SO2, or CO, as well as co-exposure to PM10, LAeq,24, and CO produced similar findings. Only exposure to one IQR of SO2 (0.15 ppb) was observed a significant association (odds ratio = 1.16, 95% CI = 1.00-1.34) with the
asthma prevalence in children after adjusting for PM10 and LAeq,24. Exposure to PM2.5, PM10, and SO2 may be associated with a higher
asthma prevalence in children, while other gaseous
pollutants and road traffic noise did not demonstrate significant associations. The interaction of exposure to
air pollutants and road traffic noise on
asthma prevalence in children was not observed in this study.