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Welcome to
Issue 2 of our
Center Newsletter: |
The goal of our Center is to improve health by investigating environmental exposures, addressing risks from these exposures, studying who might be most susceptible, and linking our research efforts with the communities we serve. |
Our Center has scientists from USC and UCLA who study cancer, respiratory disease and adverse reproductive outcomes. Some of our scientists also develop new methods for designing studies and evaluating exposures. |
| We hope that our newsletters will help you learn more about our research efforts and community outreach and education activities. |
Dr. Frank Gilliland Center Director
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Save the Date for next year's Town Hall Meeting on Ports and Goods Movement November 30 - December 1, 2007!
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Photo Credits: Dust mite "critters" by Judith Azcarate
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New Center Research on
Asthma and the Environment
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Southern California wildfires pose health risks to children
 After the raging Southern California wildfires in October 2003, Center scientists interviewed children and parents about the fires and related health symptoms as part of the USC Children’s Health Study. As lead researcher Nino Künzli stated, “The smoke from the fires that year came as a very strong additional problem to the smog and airborne particulates we normally see affecting the health of our children.” More.
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Dogs and smog are bad mix for children with asthma
 Is your dog making your child’s asthma worse? And does breathing polluted air add to the mix? That’s what a team of researchers at our Center set out to study. Researchers found that kids who lived with dogs had more asthma symptoms in response to air pollutants. Lead author of the study, Dr. Rob McConnell, however, says more research is needed before we can advise parents to give away their family dog. More. |
Teens who smoke have increased risk of developing asthma
 Researchers found alarming risks in their latest study on asthma and smoking. Teens who smoke are nearly four times as likely to develop asthma compared to non-smoking teens, according to a new Center study. If those same teenagers were also exposed to tobacco smoke before they were born, they have nine times the risk of getting asthma. The authors stress the need for more tobacco control efforts in the hope that teens will refrain from smoking if they know that it can cause them to develop asthma.More. |
Living near heavy traffic increases asthma severity
 A new report from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research finds a link between heavy traffic near residences and severe asthma. Living near heavy traffic nearly triples the chance of emergency room visits or hospitalizations for asthma sufferers. Southern California Environmental Health Sciences Center investigator Dr. Beate Ritz was one of the authors. For more information on the Policy Brief, Press Release, Children's Health Interview Survey, and asthma materials, please visit the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research website.More. |
Cockroaches, dust mites and mold, oh my!
What do cockroaches, dust mites, and mold all have in common? More than fifty students at the East Los Angeles Skills Center discovered that these are all indoor allergens that can cause problems for people with asthma. Staff from the Center’s outreach program gave an informative presentation at the school, describing what current research shows about triggers for asthma and how to prevent them.More.
Next month's newsletter will focus on both cancer and Parkinson's Disease |
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