Effects of air pollution on the upper aerodigestive tract

Abstract

The main route of contamination of the human body with airborne pollutants is through the upper air and food passages. Because of the delicate balance of the mucous membranes and special sensory organs of these passages with respect to mucociliary activity, local and recruited immune responses, rapid uptake of chemicals, and carcinogenic potential, the ingestion or inhalation of pollutants in the air can be harmful to these internal body barriers. The particular target organs for air pollution effects on the upper aerodigestive tract include the mucosa, olfactory epithelium, auditory receptor cells, glottic epithelium, and adjacent neural and muscular tissues. Hearing loss caused by noise exposure may be aggravated by the concomitant inhalation of solvents. The strongest evidence for the carcinogenic effect of occupational inhalants in the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses is seen with exposure to hardwood dust, tobacco smoke, furniture making, and leather tanning. With the exception of tobacco smoke, which produces squamous cell carcinomas, the majority of the occupationally related cancers are adenocarcinomas, usually of the intestinal variety. Tobacco smoke, passive or active, may lead to end-artery obliteration at the level of the otic end organ, causing a progressive sensorineural hearing loss. Further environmental research in the upper aerodigestive tract should aim at developing biologic markers to determine early, premalignant tissue changes; identifying the effects of chronic, low-dose toxic exposure on mucous membranes and neurosensory organs; providing field-tested tools for the standardized screening of large at-risk populations.

Pathogenetic Mechanism of Olfactory Cell Injury after Exposure to Sulfur Dioxide in Mice

“…Limited studies are available that include structural changes of the olfactory neuroepithelium or olfactory dysfunction. 5–10 …”

“…Limited studies are available that include structural changes of the olfactory neuroepithelium or olfactory dysfunction. [5][6][7][8][9][10] This paper is focused on the molecular changes in the olfactory neuroepithelium after acute exposure to high concentration of SO 2 in vivo. This study aimed to investi-…”

Effect of environmental factors on Internet searches related to sinusitis

“…Huang followed a cohort of children aged 3 to 15 years and found that those with diagnosed perennial allergic rhinitis, identified by skin prick test and symptoms, had a higher prevalence of sinus disease than those with the seasonal allergic rhinitis . Additionally, both pollution exposure and perennial allergen exposure may cause nasal mucosal irritation leading to chronic rhinosinusitis . Furthermore, allergen exposure has been found to increase expression of intercellular adhesion molecule 1, a receptor for 90% of human rhinoviruses .…”

“…23 Additionally, both pollution exposure and perennial allergen exposure may cause nasal mucosal irritation leading to chronic rhinosinusitis. 24 Furthermore, allergen exposure has been found to increase expression of intercellular adhesion molecule 1, a receptor for 90% of human rhinoviruses. 25 Despite this, neither allergen had any detectable effect on the evaluated searches.…”

Current concepts in the management of paediatric rhinosinusitis

“…Sibbald and Rink (1991) found a prevalence of perennial symptoms in 13 per cent of the paediatric population and Hattevig and Kjellman (1990) found that eight per cent of seven-year-olds had perennial symptoms. There has been an increase in the prevalence of rhinitis over the last 50 years and while environmental factors such as pollution and exposure to house dust mite have been implicated (Holt, 1996), the epidemiological evidence to support this is limited (Department of Health, 1995;Durham, 1997;Gungor and Corey, 1997).…”