This was a study of a random sample of 5000 subjects aged 59–69 years selected from the Netherlands Cohort Study on Diet and Cancer. The patients were contacted every 2 years from 1986 to 1994 to determine migration and to assess vital status and deaths. There were 489 deaths in this period. Cardiopulmonary mortality was associated with living near a major roadway—that is, 100 m from a highway or 50 m from a main road (relative risk 1.95, 95% CI 1.09 to 3.52).

This paper is yet further evidence that air pollutants or some closely associated pollutant from road traffic contribute to cardiopulmonary mortality.