Up to day, only a few studies evaluated the influence of the school environment on the respiratory health of younger schoolage children. At the same time, there is a shortage of studies analyzing the effects of different size range aerosol pollutants. When children enter the first grade of primary school, they are relatively naive to air pollution other than in the home environment. Therefore, children in this age group were chosen as the target group. Our study aimed to evaluate indoor air pollution particle number and mass concentrations in primary schools and the impact of different size range particles on asthma morbidity among younger school-age children.
Background The growing public health concern caused by non-communicable diseases in urban surroundings cannot be solved by health care alone; therefore a multidisciplinary approach is mandatory. This study aimed to evaluate the airborne aerosol pollution level in primary schools as possible factor influencing origin and course of the diseases in children. Methods Seasonal aerosol particle number concentration (PNC) and mass concentration (PMC) were studied in the randomly selected eleven primary schools in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, as model of a middle-size Eastern European city. Total PNC in the size range from 0.01 to >1.0 μm in diameter was measured using a condensation particle counter. Using an optical particle sizer, PNC was measured and PMC estimated for particles from 0.3 to 10.0 μm. A descriptive statistics was used to estimate the aerosol pollution levels. Results During all seasons, local cafeterias in the absence of ventilation were the main sources of the elevated levels of indoor PMC and PNC (up to 97,500 particles/cm 3 ). The other sources of airborne particulates were the children's activity during the lesson breaks with PMC up to 586 μg/m 3 . Soft furniture, carpets in the classrooms and corridors were responsible for PMC up to 200 μg/m 3 . Outdoor aerosol pollution (up to 18,170 particles/cm 3 ) was higher for schools in city center. Elevated air pollution in classrooms also resulted from intermittent sources, such as construction work during classes (200–1000 μg/m 3 ) and petrol-powered lawn trimmers (up to 66,400 particles/cm 3 ). Conclusion The results of our survey show that even in a relatively low polluted region of Eastern Europe there are big differences in aerosol pollution within middle-sized city. Additional efforts are needed to improve air quality in schools: more frequent wet cleaning, monitoring the operation of ventilation systems, a ban on construction works during school year, on a use of sandblasting mechanisms in the neighborhood of schools.
The school environment is crucial for the child’s health and wellbeing. On the other hand, the data about the role of school’s aerosol pollution on the etiology of chronic non-communicable diseases remain scarce.Objectives: To evaluate the level of indoor aerosol pollution in primary schools and its relation to the incidence of doctor’s diagnosed asthma among younger school-age children.Methods: The cross-sectional study was carried out in 11 primary schools of Vilnius during one year of education from autumn 2017 to spring 2018. Particle number (PNC) and mass (PMC) concentrations in the size range of 0.3-10 µm were measured using an Optical Particle Sizer (OPS, TSI model 3330). The annual incidence of doctor’s diagnosed asthma in each school was calculated retrospectively from the data of medical records.Results: The total number of 6-11 years old children participated in the study was 3638. The incidence of asthma per school ranged from 1.8 to 6.0%. Mean indoor air pollution based on measurements in classrooms during the lessons was calculated for each school. Levels of PNC and PMC in schools ranged between 33.0-168.0 part/cm 3 and 1.7-6.8 µg/m 3 , respectively. There was a statistically significant correlation between the incidence of asthma and PNC as well as asthma and PMC in the particle size range of 0.3-1 µm (r=0.66, p=0.028) and (r=0.71, p=0.017) respectively. No significant correlation was found between asthma incidence and indoor air pollution in the particle size range of 0.3-2.5 and 0.3-10 µm.Conclusions: We concluded that the number and mass concentrations of indoor air aerosol pollution in primary schools in the particle size range of 0.3-1 μm are primarily associated with the incidence of doctor’s diagnosed asthma among younger school age-children.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2025 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.