It’s spring and that means tree pollen is in the air – big time. And THAT means that seasonal allergy symptoms and asthma symptoms could be on the rise as well. If you’re allergic to trees as I am, then you know what I mean – the wheezing, the sneezing, the itchy, watery eyes. The fun never stops. So that’s the bad news about trees and asthma.

But here’s a piece of good news. A new study finds that young kids (4 to 5 years old) who live on tree-lined streets have lower rates of asthma. The study will soon be published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. Here are the highlights:

• Data was from New York City, where asthma is the leading cause of admission to hospitals among children under 15
• Medical data was compared to city data, including number of trees in each area, sources of pollution, racial and ethnic make-up, and population density
• NYC had an average of 613 street trees per square kilometer
• 9% of young children had asthma
• Asthma rates fell by almost a quarter for every standard deviation increase in tree density

These patterns were true despite factors such as sources of pollution, levels of affluence, and population density, all things deemed likely to affect the results.

Experts caution that there may be no direct relationship between number of trees in an area and the rates for asthma. And they’re not sure how to explain the findings above. It could be that trees improve air quality or encourage children to play outdoors away from often potent indoor asthma triggers.

So, I’m not sure what to make of this research. But I do know I like looking at the trees, and it sure makes me notice my asthma symptoms less – even if their pollen is not the best thing for me. How about you?