Short-term air pollution exposure decreases lung function: a repeated measures study in healthy adults.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Daily changes in ambient concentrations of particulate matter, nitrogen oxides and ozone are associated with increased cardiopulmonary morbidity and mortality, with the lungs and their function being a vulnerable target.

Methods

To evaluate the association between daily changes in air pollution and lung function in healthy adults we obtained annual lung function measurements from a routine worker health surveillance program not designed for research purposes. Forced Vital Capacity (FVC), Forced Expiratory Volume in the first second (FEV1), FEV1/FVC and Peak Expiratory flow (PEF) from a cohort of 2449 employees were associated with daily measurements of PM₁₀, NO₂ and ozone at a nearby monitoring station in the North of Belgium. Repeated measures were available for the period 2011-2015.

Results

The mean (SD) PM₁₀ concentration on the day of the lung function test was 24.9 (15.5) ?g/m³. A 10 ?g PM₁₀/m³ increase on the day of the clinical examination was associated with a 18.9 ml lower FVC (95% CI: -27.5 to -10.3, p < 0.0001), 12.8 ml lower FEV1 (-19.1 to -6.5; p < 0.0001), and a 51.4 ml/s lower PEF (-75.0 to -27.0; p < 0.0001). The FEV1/FVC-ratio showed no associations. An increase of 10 ?gNO₂/m³ was associated with a reduction in PEF (-66.1 ml/s (-106.6 to -25.6; p < 0.001)) on the day of the examination.

Conclusions

We found negative associations between daily variations in ambient air pollution and FVC, FEV1 and PEF in healthy adults.

SUBMITTER: Int Panis L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5471732 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature