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PubMedDate not supplied

Respiratory symptoms and air pollution changes in children: the Gardanne Coal-Basin Study.

The influence of daily changes in sulfur dioxide (SO2) levels on the induction of respiratory symptoms was studied during the 1983-1984 winter in 450 children, aged 9 to 11 yr, living in the Gardanne coal-basin, France. In this area, SO2 originates mainly from a coal-fueled power plant. The mean SO2 level during the winter was 22 micrograms/m3 in low-pollution areas and 93 micrograms/m3 in polluted areas, with daily SO2 levels up to 356 micrograms/m3. Children completed a daily diary about respiratory symptoms. In the polluted communities only we demonstrated a significant association between daily SO2 levels (after controlling for temperature and respirable particle variations) and prevalence of upper and lower respiratory symptoms. However, in each polluted town, and for each respiratory symptom, there was no evidence for either a latency period or a delay in the effects of pollutants. Mean daily temperature was also closely correlated with upper and lower respiratory symptoms in most of the polluted and some low-pollution communities. In a second step, the prevalence of respiratory symptoms in each town was compared, during two 2-wk periods, with air pollution levels; higher prevalences were found during the pollution period. In conclusion, moderate daily changes in SO2 levels induce a significant but transient increase in the prevalence of respiratory symptoms in children.

Air Pollutants↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Associations of London, England, daily mortality with particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, and acidic aerosol pollution.

During the extreme pollution episodes of 1952 and 1962 in London, England, excesses in daily mortality were clearly evident. In this study, we examined daily British Smoke, sulfur dioxide, acid aerosols, and weather variables for their short-term associations with daily mortality in the more typical (nonepisodic) winters of 1965-1972. Consideration of the acid aerosol data was of special interest because this chemical component has been suspected as a causal agent in past episodes. Temporal lag structures between the variables were examined after removal of long-term components from each series in order to obtain "rational" cross-correlations. Significant associations between same-day and lagged pollution variables and mortality were found. Alternative regression models with pollution and weather variables were also developed. The coefficients obtained were applied to the 1962 pollution episode to examine the continuity of the estimated slopes. The pollution-predicted deaths fit the observed deaths well, which supports the applicability of such deviation-derived coefficients to the absolute scale. These models were also employed to estimate mean excess daily deaths attributed hypothetically to air pollution. On average, mean effect ranged from 2-7% of all deaths during the nonepisodic winters in Greater London, but the 95% confidence intervals of these estimates overlapped for all model specifications examined. This estimated pollutant mixture "effect" cannot be attributed to a particular pollutant because of a lack of quantitative information on the relative downward biases caused by both analytical errors and errors in the spatial representativeness of each respective pollution index.

Acids↗
PubMed2006

Air pollution and hospital admissions for asthma in a tropical city: Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

This study was undertaken to determine whether there is an association between air pollutants levels and hospital admissions for asthma in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Hospital admissions for asthma and ambient air pollution data for Kaohsiung were obtained for the period from 1996 through 2003. The relative risk of hospital admission was estimated using a case-crossover approach, controlling for weather variables, day of the week, seasonality, and long-term time trends. In the single-pollutant models, on warm days (> or = 25 degrees C) statistically significant positive associations were found in all pollutants except sulfur dioxide (SO2). On cool days (< or = 25 degrees C) all pollutants were significantly associated with asthma admissions For the two pollutant models, CO and O3 were significant in combination with each of the other four pollutants on warm days. On cool days NO2 remained statistically significant in all the two-pollutant models. This study provides evidence that higher levels of ambient pollutants increase the risk of hospital admissions for asthma.

Air Pollutants↗
PubMed2000

A study of the association between daily mortality and ambient air pollutant concentrations in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

We have studied the possible association of daily mortality with ambient pollutant concentrations (PM10, CO, O3, SO2, NO2, and fine [PM2.5] and coarse PM) and weather variables (temperature and dew point) in the Pittsburgh, PA, area for two age groups--less than 75, and 75 and over--for the 3-year period of 1989-1991. Correlation functions among pollutant concentrations show important seasonal dependence, and this fact necessitates the use of seasonal models to better identify the link between ambient pollutant concentrations and daily mortality. An analysis of the seasonal model results for the younger-age group reveals significant multicollinearity problems among the highly correlated concentrations of PM10, CO, and NO2 (and O3 in spring and summer), and calls into question the rather consistent results of the single- and multi-pollutant non-seasonal models that show a significant positive association between PM10 and daily mortality. For the older-age group, dew point consistently shows a significant association with daily mortality in all models. Collinearity problems appear in the multi-pollutant seasonal and non-seasonal models such that a significant, positive PM10 coefficient is accompanied by a significant, negative coefficient of another ambient pollutant, and the identity of this other pollutant changes with season. The PM2.5 data set is half that of PM10. Identical-model runs for both data sets reveal instability in the pollutant coefficients, especially for the younger age group. The concern for the instability of the pollutant coefficients due to a small signal-to-noise ratio makes it impossible to ascertain credibly the relative associations of the fine- and coarse-particle modes with daily mortality. In this connection, we call for caution in the interpretation of model results for causal inference when the models use fully or partially estimated PM values to fill large data gaps.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

90-day repeated inhalation exposure of surfactant Protein-C/tumor necrosis factor-alpha, (SP-C/TNF-alpha) transgenic mice to air pollutants.

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, a cytokine present in inflammed lungs, is known to mediate some of the adverse effects of ozone and inhaled particles. The authors evaluated transgenic mice with constitutive pulmonary expression of TNF-alpha under transcriptional regulation of the surfactant protein-C promoter as an animal model of biological susceptibility to air pollutants. To simulate a repeated, episodic exposure to air pollutants, wild-type and TNF mice inhaled air or a mixture of ozone (0.4 ppm) and urban particles (EHC-93, 4.8 mg/m3) for 4 h, once per week, for 12 consecutive weeks and were sacrificed 20 h after last exposure. TNF mice exhibited chronic lung inflammation with septal thickening, alveolar enlargement, and elevated protein and cellularity in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (genotype main effect, p < .001). Repeated exposure to pollutants did not result in measurable inflammatory changes in wild-type mice and did not exacerbate the inflammation in TNF mice. The pollutants decreased recovery of alveolar macrophages in tavage fluid of both wild-type and TNF mice (exposure main effect, p < .001). Exacerbation of the rate of protein nitration reactions specifically in the lungs of TNF mice was revealed by the high ratio of 3-nitrotyrosine to L-DOPA after exposure to the air pollutants (Genotype x Exposure factor interaction, p = .014). Serum creatine kinase-MM isoform increased in TNF mice exposed to pollutants (Genotype X Exposure factor interaction, p = .043). The marked pollutant-related nitration in the lungs of the TNF mice reveals basic differences in free radical generation and scavenging in the inflamed lungs in response to pollutants. Furthermore, elevation of circulating creatine kinase-MM isoform specifically in TNF mice exposed to pollutants suggests systemic adverse impacts from lung inflammatory mediators, possibly on muscles and the cardiovascular system.

Administration, Inhalation↗
PubMed1988

Air pollution and lung cancer mortality in Harris County, Texas, 1979-1981.

Elevated lung cancer mortality rates in Harris County, Texas compared with other US counties and previously published reports that suggested a causal relation between air pollution and lung cancer in Houston prompted this ecologic analysis. A weighted regression analysis was used to examine the air pollution-lung cancer mortality relation for white males in Harris County, Texas, 1979-1981. The regression model included the following census tract-specific characteristics: median age for white males, two social and demographic factors not strongly correlated with pollution (family life cycle and migration), an age-dependent smoking index, and a pollution measure based on total suspended particulates. This model indicated a statistically significant contribution of the pollution measure in explaining the intracounty variation in lung cancer mortality rates. The relation between air pollution and lung cancer mortality, however, appeared to be highly dependent on which social and demographic factors were selected for inclusion in the analysis. Air pollution was not demonstrated to be a strong determinant of lung cancer mortality in this study in that the presence of air pollution accounted for less than 5% of the total variation in intraurban lung cancer mortality. In addition, the interpretation of geographic analysis must be guarded due to the introduction of potential bias due to aggregation. The hypothesis that air pollution is contributory to lung cancer cannot be tested until other, stronger individual risk factors for lung cancer can be better measured and controlled in studies of this association.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Bronchial responsiveness in an area of air pollution resulting from wire reclamation.

Spirometric data from 86 primary school children living in an area of air pollution resulting from wire reclamation incineration were analysed and compared with 92 non-exposed schoolchildren. There were lower values for forced vital capacity and forced expiratory volume and thus a higher incidence of pulmonary function abnormalities in the children in the polluted area than those in a non-polluted area. There was no significant difference in the prevalence of respiratory symptoms between these two areas when surveyed by a questionnaire. Twenty eight schoolchildren from a non-polluted area and 26 children from the polluted area, who were said to have no respiratory symptoms and for whom consent forms were obtained, were recruited for a bronchial responsiveness test. Nine (35%) of 26 children in the polluted area were responders (less than 50 U) and only one of the control subjects was a responder. The mean (SD) log cumulative dose producing a 35% decrease in respiratory conductance and the minimum cumulative dose required to decrease respiratory conductance from the baseline in the children of the polluted area were significantly lower than that of the control subjects (1.32 (0.37) log units and 1.26 (0.44) log units, respectively, compared with 1.70 (0.10) log unit for both measurements in non-exposed children). These results indicate that air pollution resulting from wire reclamation can produce a detrimental effect on both pulmonary function and bronchial responsiveness in primary schoolchildren who are continually exposed to air pollutants from the time of their birth.

Air Pollutants↗
PubMed2006

Ambient particulate air pollution and cardiac arrhythmia in a panel of older adults in Steubenville, Ohio.

OBJECTIVES: Ambient particulate air pollution has been associated with increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Pathways by which particles may act involve autonomic nervous system dysfunction or inflammation, which can affect cardiac rate and rhythm. The importance of these pathways may vary by particle component or source. In an eastern US location with significant regional pollution, the authors examined the association of air pollution and odds of cardiac arrhythmia in older adults. METHODS: Thirty two non-smoking older adults were evaluated on a weekly basis for 24 weeks during the summer and autumn of 2000 with a standardised 30 minute protocol that included continuous electrocardiogram measurements. A central ambient monitoring station provided daily concentrations of fine particles (PM(2.5), sulfate, elemental carbon) and gases. Sulfate was used as a marker of regional pollution. The authors used logistic mixed effects regression to examine the odds of having any supraventricular ectopy (SVE) or ventricular ectopy (VE) in association with increases in air pollution for moving average pollutant concentrations up to 10 days before the health assessment. RESULTS: Participant specific mean counts of arrhythmia over the protocol varied between 0.1-363 for SVE and 0-350 for VE. The authors observed odds ratios for having SVE over the length of the protocol of 1.42 (95% CI 0.99 to 2.04), 1.70 (95% CI 1.12 to 2.57), and 1.78 (95% CI 0.95 to 3.35) for 10.0 microg/m3, 4.2 microg/m3, and 14.9 ppb increases in five day moving average PM2.5, sulfate, and ozone concentrations respectively. The other pollutants, including elemental carbon, showed no effect on arrhythmia. Participants reporting cardiovascular conditions (for example, previous myocardial infarction or hypertension) were the most susceptible to pollution induced SVE. The authors found no association of pollution with VE. CONCLUSION: Increased levels of ambient sulfate and ozone may increase the risk of supraventricular arrhythmia in the elderly.

Aged↗
PubMed1995

Short term fluctuations in air pollution and hospital admissions of the elderly for respiratory disease.

BACKGROUND: Several recent studies have reported associations between short term changes in air pollution and respiratory hospital admissions. This relationship was examined in two cities with substantially different levels of sulphur dioxide (SO2) but similar levels of airborne particles in an attempt to separate the effects of the two pollutants. Significant differences in weather between the two cities allowed the evaluation of that potential confounder also. METHODS: Daily counts of admissions to all hospitals for respiratory disease (ICD 9 460-519) were constructed for persons aged 65 years and older in two cities - New Haven, Connecticut and Tacoma, Washington. Each city was analysed separately. Average daily concentrations of SO2, inhalable particles (PM10), and ozone were computed from all monitors in each city, and daily average temperature and humidity were obtained from the US weather service. Daily respiratory admission counts were regressed on temperature, humidity, day of the week indicators, and air pollution. A 19 day weighted moving regression filter was used to remove all seasonal and subseasonal patterns from the data. Possible U-shaped dependence of admissions on temperature was dealt with using indicator variables for eight categories each of temperature and humidity. Each pollutant was first examined individually and then multiple pollutant models were fitted. RESULTS: All three pollutants were associated with respiratory hospital admissions of the elderly. The PM10 associations were little changed by control for either ozone or SO2. The ozone association was likewise independent of the other pollutants. The SO2 association was substantially attenuated by control for ozone in both cities, and by control for PM10 in Tacoma. The magnitude of the effect was small (relative risk 1.06 in New Haven and 1.10 in Tacoma for a 50 micrograms/m3 increase in PM10, for example) but, given the ubiquitous exposure, this has some public health significance. CONCLUSIONS: Air pollution concentrations within current guidelines were associated with increased respiratory hospital admissions of the elderly. The strongest evidence for an independent association was for PM10, followed by ozone. These results are consistent with other studies and suggest that lowering air pollution concentrations would have some impact on public health.

Aged↗
PubMed2006

Spatio-temporal effects of estimated pollutants released from an industrial estate on the occurrence of respiratory disease in Maptaphut Municipality, Thailand.

BACKGROUND: Maptaphut Industrial Estate (MIE) was established with a single factory in 1988, increasing to 50 by 1998. This development has resulted in undesirable impacts on the environment and the health of the people in the surrounding areas, evidenced by frequent complaints of bad odours making the people living there ill. In 1999, the Bureau of Environmental Health, Department of Health, Ministry of Public Health, conducted a study of the health status of people in Rayong Province and found a marked increase in respiratory diseases over the period 1993-1996, higher than the overall prevalence of such diseases in Thailand. However, the relationship between the pollutants and the respiratory diseases of the people in the surrounding area has still not been quantified. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the spatial distribution of respiratory disease, to estimate pollutants released from the industrial estates, and to quantify the relationship between estimated pollutants and respiratory disease in the Maptaphut Municipality. RESULTS: Disease mapping showed a much higher risk of respiratory disease in communities adjacent to the Maptaphut Industrial Estate. Disease occurrence formed significant clusters centred on communities near the estate, relative to the weighted mean centre of chimney stacks. Analysis of the rates of respiratory disease in the communities, categorized by different concentrations of estimated pollutants, found a dose-response effect. Spatial regression analysis found that the distance between community and health providers decreased the rate of respiratory disease (p < 0.05). However, after taking into account distance, total pollutant (p < 0.05), SO2 (p < 0.05) and NOx (p < 0.05) played a role in adverse health effects during the summer. Total pollutant (p < 0.05) and NOx (p < 0.05) played a role in adverse health effects during the rainy season after taking into account distance, but during winter there was no observed relationship between pollutants and rates of respiratory disease after taking into account distance. A 12-month time-series analysis of six communities selected from the disease clusters and the areas impacted most by pollutant dispersion, found significant effects for SO2 (p < 0.05), NOx (p < 0.05), and TSP (p < 0.05) after taking into account rainfall. CONCLUSION: This study employed disease mapping to present the spatial distribution of disease. Excessive risk of respiratory disease, and disease clusters, were found among communities near Maptaphut Industrial Estate. Study of the relationship between estimated pollutants and the occurrence of respiratory disease found significant relationships between estimated SO2, NOx, and TSP, and the rate of respiratory disease.

Air Pollutants↗
PubMed2001

Effect of air pollution on daily mortality in Hong Kong.

In different weather conditions, constituents and concentrations of pollutants, personal exposure, and biologic responses to air pollution may vary. In this study we assessed the effects of four air pollutants on mortality in both cool and warm seasons in Hong Kong, a subtropical city. Daily counts of mortality, due to all nonaccidental causes, and cardiovascular and respiratory diseases were modeled with daily pollutant concentrations [24-hr means for nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter < 10 microm in aerodynamic diameter (PM(10)); 8-hr mean for ozone]. using Poisson regression. We controlled for confounding factors by fitting the terms in models, in line with those recommended by the APHEA (Air Pollution and Health: a European Approach) protocol. Exposure-response relationships in warm and cool seasons were examined using generalized additive modeling. During the cool season, for a linear extrapolation of 10th-90th percentiles in the pollutant concentrations of all oxidant pollutants, NO(2), SO(2), and O(3), we found significant effects on all the mortality outcomes under study, with relative risks (RR) of 1.04-1.10 (p < 0.038, except p = 0.079 for SO(2) on respiratory mortality). We observed consistent positive exposure-response relationships during the cool season but not during the warm season. The effects of PM(10) were marginally significant (RR = 1.06; p = 0.054) for respiratory mortality but not for the other outcomes (p > 0.135). In this subtropical city, local air quality objectives should take into account that air pollution has stronger health effects during the cool rather than warm season and that oxidant pollutants are more important indicators of health effects than particulates.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

A combined analysis of the short-term effects of photochemical air pollutants on mortality within the EMECAM project.

In recent years, some epidemiologic studies have attributed adverse effects of air pollutants on health not only to particles and sulfur dioxide but also to photochemical air pollutants (nitrogen dioxide and ozone). The effects are usually small, leading to some inconsistencies in the results of the studies. Furthermore, the different methodologic approaches of the studies used has made it difficult to derive generic conclusions. We provide here a quantitative summary of the short-term effects of photochemical air pollutants on mortality in seven Spanish cities involved in the EMECAM project, using generalized additive models from analyses of single and multiple pollutants. Nitrogen dioxide and ozone data were provided by seven EMECAM cities (Barcelona, Gijón, Huelva, Madrid, Oviedo, Seville, and Valencia). Mortality indicators included daily total mortality from all causes excluding external causes, daily cardiovascular mortality, and daily respiratory mortality. Individual estimates, obtained from city-specific generalized additive Poisson autoregressive models, were combined by means of fixed effects models and, if significant heterogeneity among local estimates was found, also by random effects models. Significant positive associations were found between daily mortality (all causes and cardiovascular) and NO(2), once the rest of air pollutants were taken into account. A 10 microg/m(3) increase in the 24-hr average 1-day NO(2)level was associated with an increase in the daily number of deaths of 0.43% [95% confidence interval (CI), -0.003-0.86%] for all causes excluding external. In the case of significant relationships, relative risks for cause-specific mortality were nearly twice as much as that for total mortality for all the photochemical pollutants. Ozone was independently related only to cardiovascular daily mortality. No independent statistically significant relationship between photochemical air pollutants and respiratory mortality was found. The results in this study suggest that, given the present levels of photochemical pollutants, people living in Spanish cities are exposed to health risks derived from air pollution.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Ambient air pollution and pregnancy outcomes: a review of the literature.

Over the last decade or so, a large number of studies have investigated the possible adverse effects of ambient air pollution on birth outcomes. We reviewed these studies, which were identified by a systematic search of the main scientific databases. Virtually all reviewed studies were population based, with information on exposure to air pollution derived from routine monitoring sources. Overall, there is evidence implicating air pollution in adverse effects on different birth outcomes, but the strength of the evidence differs between outcomes. The evidence is sufficient to infer a causal relationship between particulate air pollution and respiratory deaths in the postneonatal period. For air pollution and birth weight the evidence suggests causality, but further studies are needed to confirm an effect and its size and to clarify the most vulnerable period of pregnancy and the role of different pollutants. For preterm births and intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) the evidence as yet is insufficient to infer causality, but the available evidence justifies further studies. Molecular epidemiologic studies suggest possible biologic mechanisms for the effect on birth weight, premature birth, and IUGR and support the view that the relation between pollution and these birth outcomes is genuine. For birth defects, the evidence base so far is insufficient to draw conclusions. In terms of exposure to specific pollutants, particulates seem the most important for infant deaths, and the effect on IUGR seems linked to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, but the existing evidence does not allow precise identification of the different pollutants or the timing of exposure that can result in adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Air Pollution↗
PubMed1993

A critical review of studies of the association between demands for hospital services and air pollution.

Studies of the associations between air pollution and hospital admissions and emergency room use are reviewed, including studies of air pollution episodes, time-series analyses, and cross-sectional analyses. These studies encompass a variety of methods of analysis and levels of air quality. Findings from all three types of studies were generally consistent in that almost all of the studies reviewed found statistically significant associations between hospital use and air pollution; this unanimity may have resulted in part from publication bias. These associations were characterized by elasticities of the order of 0.20; i.e., a 100% change in air pollution was associated with a change in hospital use of about 20%, for specific diagnoses. Respiratory diagnoses were emphasized by most studies; cardiac diagnoses were included in five of them. The air pollutants most often associated with changes in hospital use were particulate matter, sulfur oxides, and oxidants. Apart from the major air pollution episodes, there was no obvious link between air pollution level and the significance or magnitudes of the associations. Long-term indicators of hospitalization appeared to also be influenced by medical care supply factors, including the numbers of beds and physicians per capita. These nonpathological causal factors could also have influenced the findings of the time-series studies by introducing extraneous factors in the patterns of admissions. Although consistent associations have been shown between hospital use and air pollution, further research is required to distinguish among potentially responsible pollutants and to deduce specific dose-response relationships of general utility.

Air Pollution↗
PubMed1999

PM(10) exposure, gaseous pollutants, and daily mortality in Inchon, South Korea.

To evaluate the relative importance of various measures of particulate and gaseous air pollution as predictors of daily mortality in Inchon, South Korea, the association between total daily mortality and air pollution was investigated for a 20-month period (January 1995 through August 1996). Poisson regression was used to regress daily death counts on each air pollutant, controlling for time trends, season, and meteorologic influences such as temperature and relative humidity. Regression coefficients of a 5-day moving average of particulate matter less than or = to 10 microm in aerodynamic diameter (PM(10)) on total mortality were positively significant when considered separately and simultaneously with other pollutants in the model. PM(10) remained significant when the models were confined to cardiovascular or respiratory mortality. Sulfur dioxide (SO(2)) and carbon monoxide (CO) were significantly related to respiratory mortality in the single-pollutant model. Ozone exposure was not statistically significant with regard to mortality in the above models, and graphic analysis showed that the relationship was nonlinear. A combined index of PM(10), nitrogen dioxide, SO(2), and CO seemed to better explain the exposure-response relationship with total mortality than an individual air pollutant. Pollutants should be considered together in the risk assessment of air pollution, as opposed to measuring the risk of individual pollutants.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Microbial response to heavy metal-polluted soils: community analysis from phospholipid-linked fatty acids and ester-linked fatty acids extracts.

Heavy metal pollution of soil is of concern for human health and ecosystem function. The soil microbial community should be a sensitive indicator of metal contamination effects on bioavailability and biogeochemical processes. Simple methods are needed to determine the degree of in situ pollution and effectiveness of remediating metal-contaminated soils. Currently, phospholipid-linked fatty acids (PLFAs) are preferred for microbial profiling but this method is time consuming, whereas direct soil extraction and transesterification of total ester-linked fatty acids (ELFAs) is attractive because of its simplicity. The 1998 mining acid-metal spill of >4000 ha in the Guadiamar watershed (southwestern Spain) provided a unique opportunity to study these two microbial lipid profiling methods. Replicated treatments were set up as nonpolluted, heavy metal polluted and reclaimed, and polluted soils. Inferences from whole community-diversity analysis and correlations of individual fatty acids with metals suggested Cu, Cd, and Zn were the most important in affecting microbial community structure, along with pH. The microbial stress marker, monounsaturated fatty acids, was significantly lower for reclaimed and polluted soil over nonpolluted soils for both PLFA and ELFA extraction. Another stress marker, the monounsaturated to saturated fatty acids ratio, only showed this for the PLFA. The general fungal marker (18:2omega6c), the arbuscule mycorrhizae marker (16:1omega5c), and iso- and anteiso-branched PLFAs (gram positive bacteria) were suppressed with increasing pollution whereas 17:0cy (gram negative bacteria) increased with metal pollution. For both extraction methods, richness and diversity were greater in nonpolluted soils and lowest in polluted soils. The ELFA method was sensitive for reflecting metal pollution on microbial communities and could be suitable for routine use in ecological monitoring and risk assessment programs because of its simplicity and reproducibility.

Bacteria↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Effects of air pollution on children's health in Nis and Niska Banja].

BACKGROUND: Epidemiological studies point out that air pollution in the cities was a major risk for health of the exposed population. In particular, the effects of air pollutants were adverse to the respiratory tract. In Nis and Niska Banja, the concetrations of pollutants were mainly below the threshold values. However, according to the literature, even these concentrations could exert negative effects, especially the health of the most sensitive group, such as the preschool children. The aim of our study was to evaluate the effects of the current levels of air pollutants in the city of Nis on respiratory symptoms and diseases. METHODS: A pilot, cohort, retrospective study included 1 385 children of 1-5 years of age from the zones with statistically significant concentrations of air pollutants, in the period after the birth of the children. The prevalence of respiratory symptoms and diseases was determined on the basis of a modified WHO standard questionnaire completed by the parents. RESULTS: It was revealed that in the more polluted of the studed zones, the prevalence of some respiratory symptoms (cough with cold and phlegm), and the lower respiratory tract diseases was significantly higher. CONCLUSION: The results of our study showed that the current concentrations of air pollutants in Nis and Niska Banja could represent the important etiological factor for the development of respiratory symptoms and diseases. Our study showed that in the children of up to 5 years of age, the frequency of respiratory symptoms and diseases was significantly higher in more polluted than in less polluted environments.

Air Pollutants↗
PubMed1999

[Cellular pathophysiologic effects of various air pollutants on the airways].

Both epidemiological and experimental data indicate that major health consequences of urban air pollution i.e., respiratory symptoms are related, at least in part, to an alteration in the cellular processes implicated in bronchial responsiveness. In the Laboratory, we have set up techniques which enable to pre-expose in vitro human isolated bronchi to some air pollutants. Using these techniques, we have examined the dosimetric relationships and the cellular mechanisms of bronchial responsiveness altered by nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O3) or aldehydes such as acrolein. The combined effects of gas pollutants and passive immunological sensitization on bronchial hyperresponsiveness have also been studied. As a general rule, experimental protocols consisted in a comparison of the responsiveness of human bronchial tissues (obtained at thoracotomy from patients undergoing resection for pulmonary carcinoma) following ex vivo exposure to air pollutants with that of paired tissues unexposed to pollutants which acted as temporal controls. We have observed that the responsiveness of human isolated bronchi is increased following pre-exposure to NO2 or O3 or to acrolein for 15 to 30 min, at concentrations in the range of ppm and microM, respectively. A common target for the action of these pollutants on airway smooth muscle reactivity has been identified i.e., the release of intracellular stored calcium ions. Direct measurements of cytosolic calcium concentration in isolated airway smooth muscle cells exposed to pollutants have confirmed this hypothesis. Finally, we have obtained results indicating that passive sensitization and exposure to pollutants act in a additional manner on human bronchial smooth muscle reactivity in response to both specific antigen and non specific agonists. Collectively, these experimental in vitro results enable (i) to establish dosimetric relationships, (ii) to examine the cellular mechanisms and (iii) to identify populations at risk for various gas pollutants.

Air Pollutants↗