Respiratory Symptoms and Air Pollution Changes in Children: The Gardanne Coal-Basin Study

Abstract

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.

The Effects of Air Pollution on Children

“…Dodge et al (31) found evidence that respiratory symptoms in children were related to SO2 pollution levels; the same was true in Charpin's study (18 (34) showed that there was no association between NO2 levels in the home and the occurrence of respiratory infections. There was no passive tobacco smoke exposure.…”

Health effects of air pollution in southern Europe: are there interacting factors?

“…Associations of respiratory and other symptoms with daily levels of SO2 were found in the more polluted communities but not in the less polluted ones (21).…”

Poluição do ar e doenças respiratórias: uma revisão

“…Os autores concluíram, então, que, após controle das variáveis socio-econômicas e ambientais, as diferenças entre as crianças da área poluída e da área limpa, evidentes na primeira etapa do estudo, haviam desaparecido com a queda dos níveis de poluição, sugerindo que os efeitos danosos dos poluentes para as vias aéreas eram reversíveis, ao menos naquela faixa etária. Charpin et al (1988) estudaram a sintomatologia respiratória de crianças entre 9 e 11 anos, residentes próximas a uma mina e uma usina de carvão no sul da França e compararam a freqüência de queixas respiratórias entre moradores submetidos a diferentes concentrações de poluentes, particularmente dióxido de enxofre (SO 2 ). Nas áreas poluídas, verificou-se associação significativa entre os níveis de SO 2 e sintomas respiratórios altos e baixos.…”