Traffic volumes and respiratory health care utilization among residents in close proximity to the Peace Bridge before and after September 11, 2001.

A recent study based on data over a 10-year period (1991-2000) showed a positive association between health care utilization and prevalence of asthma, and commercial traffic at a U.S.-Canada border crossing. We wanted to determine whether decreases in total traffic would also be associated with decreases in health care utilization for respiratory illnesses. Following September 11, 2001, there was a 50% drop in total traffic at the Peace Bridge border crossing point between Buffalo, New York and Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada. To investigate the impact of such a traffic decline on health care utilization for respiratory illnesses, weekly respiratory admissions to Kaleida Health System, Western New York's largest health care provider were analyzed according to ICD9CM classification and compared with total weekly traffic volumes for 3-month periods in 2000 and 2001 (August, September, and October). The total number of patients admitted to hospital or seen in emergency departments for respiratory illnesses during the 3-month periods of both years was 5288. A 50% drop in total traffic following Labor Day and September 11, 2001, from week 4 to week 7 was found to be statistically significant (p = 0.031) when a one-way ANOVA was performed. Likewise, the drop in total respiratory cases approached statistical significance (p = 0.052) when a one-way ANOVA was conducted. The results suggest an association between decrease in traffic volumes with decrease in health care utilization for respiratory diseases. These results suggest that current levels of traffic may be impacting on the respiratory health of residents in the nearby community.