NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Children who live near a busy road may be at increased risk of wheezing, a symptom of asthma, researchers report.

In the study, investigators found that children aged 4 to 16 who lived within 150 meters (about 450 feet) of a heavily trafficked street were more likely to develop a wheezing illness than their peers who did not live in such close proximity to a busy road.

The risk increased by 8% among primary schoolchildren and 16% among secondary schoolchildren with each 30-meter (90-foot) increment closer the home was to the street. Among younger children, living closer to a main road appeared to have a greater effect on girls than on boys, the findings indicate.

Previous research has shown that 150 meters is the threshold at which levels of pollutants from motor vehicles are higher than general background levels, the researchers, from the University of Nottingham in the UK, explain.

The current findings, published in a recent issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, ''support a causal effect of exposure to road traffic pollution on wheezing illness in children,'' Dr. Andrea J. Venn and colleagues conclude.

The study included more than 6,000 children aged 4 to 11 and about 3,700 children aged 11 to 16 in Nottingham. The investigators used specialized software to estimate the relationship between the distance of the family home from a main road and the risk of wheezing in past year. Heavily trafficked streets carried between 10,000 to 100,000 vehicles a day.

``This study provides evidence that the risk of wheeze in children is increased in relation to proximity to main roads, as might be expected from the profile of traffic pollutant levels close to the road,'' the researchers write.

The mix of air pollutants from cars includes nitrogen, carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons, among others.

Venn's team recommends that future studies investigate the effects of specific pollutants and why younger girls may be more susceptible to wheezing than younger boys.

SOURCE: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine

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