Traffic-related air pollution in relation to respiratory symptoms, allergic sensitisation and lung function in schoolchildren

Abstract

Background: Urban air pollution can trigger asthma exacerbations, but the effects of long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution on lung function or onset of airway disease and allergic sensitisation in children is less clear. Methods: All 2107 children aged 9-14 years from 40 schools in Rome in 2000-1 were included in a crosssectional survey. Respiratory symptoms were assessed on 1760 children by parental questionnaires (response rate 83.5%). Allergic sensitisation was measured by skin prick tests and lung function was measured by spirometry on 1359 children (77.2%). Three indicators of trafficrelated air pollution exposure were assessed: selfreported heavy traffic outside the child's home; the measured distance between the child's home and busy roads; and the residential nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) levels estimated by a land use regression model (R 2 = 0.69). Results: There was a strong association between estimated NO 2 exposure per 10 mg/m 3 and lung function, especially expiratory flows, in linear regression models adjusted for age, gender, height and weight: 20.62% (95% CI 21.05 to 20.19) for forced expiratory volume in 1 s as a percentage of forced vital capacity, 262 ml/s (95% CI 2102 to 221) for forced expiratory flow between 25% and 75% of forced vital capacity and 285 ml/s (95% CI 2135 to 235) for peak expiratory flow. The other two exposure indicators showed similar but weaker associations. The associations appeared stronger in girls, older children, in children of high socioeconomic status and in those exposed to parental smoking. Although lifetime asthma was not an effect modifier, there was a suggestion of a larger effect on lung function in subjects with a positive prick test. Multiple logistic regression models did not suggest a consistent association between traffic-related air pollution exposure and prevalence of respiratory symptoms or allergic sensitisation. Conclusion:The results of this study suggest that residential traffic-related air pollution exposure is associated with reduced expiratory flows in schoolchildren.

A rapid assessment of the impact of hazard reduction burning around Sydney, May 2016

“…Other studies have examined the effects of multiple pollutants in the proximity of roads for respiratory health and allergic disease outcomes (Brunekreef et al, 1997;van Vliet et al, 1997;Nicolai et al, 2003;Kim J et al, 2004;Gauderman et al, 2005;Morgenstern et al, 2008;Rosenlund et al, 2009a;McConnell et al, 2010;Gehring et al, 2010;Clark et al, 2010;Gruzieva et al, 2012Gruzieva et al, , 2013Schultz et al, 2012;Willers et al, 2013), birth weight (Brauer et al, 2008), pre-eclampsia and preterm birth (Wu et al, 2011), fatal myocardial infarction (Rosenlund et al, 2006(Rosenlund et al, , 2009b, lung cancer (Nyberg et al, 2000) and mortality (Beelen et al, 2008a). However in their analyses these investigators used either a proximity to road measure or a specific pollutant(s), but never the effects of (multiple) pollutants within proximity to roads.…”

Effect of indoor nitrogen dioxide on lung function in urban environment

“…In this paper, NO 2 exposure was associated with increased frequency of respiratory tract symptoms and decreased FEV 1 . Similarly, exposure to environmental NO 2 -estimated by means of a land use regression model -was shown to be associated with reduced expiratory flows in schoolchildren (Rosenlund et al, 2009). These results strongly suggest that home exposure to indoor NO 2 not only increases the frequency of respiratory symptoms (subjective data), but also impairs lung function (objective data) in children.…”

Diesel Exhaust Particle Exposure and its Pulmonary Function Effects

“…많은 역학연구에서 대기 중 미세먼지 와 호흡기 건강영향의 관련성에 대해 언급하고 있으며 (Moon et al, 2009;Kim et al, 2006), 대기 중 미세먼 지에 장기간 노출되는 것이 폐기능 저하에 영향을 줄 수 있다는 선행 연구결과가 있다 (Rosenlund, 2009;Rundell et al, 2008). …”