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

Abstract

BackgroundDaily 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.MethodsTo 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.ResultsThe mean (SD) PM10 concentration on the day of the lung function test was 24.9 (15.5) μg/m3. A 10 μg 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 μgNO2/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.ConclusionsWe found negative associations between daily variations in ambient air pollution and FVC, FEV1 and PEF in healthy adults.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12940-017-0271-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Temporal trends in respiratory mortality and short-term effects of air pollutants in Shenyang, China

“…Epidemiological studies indicated that daily changes in ambient concentrations of NO 2 and SO 2 trigger negative health effects on cardiopulmonary function, with both long-term and short-term exposure being associated with mortality risk (Brunekreef et al 2009 ; Ghozikali et al 2015 ; Int Panis et al 2017 ; Miri et al 2016 ). Our study found a relationship between lung cancer mortality and elevated SO 2 level.…”

Effect of outdoor particulate air pollution on FEV1in healthy adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…One study assessed the relationship between acute exposure to PM 10 and observed a significant change in FEV 1 of −15.8 mL (95% CI −21.9 to −9.6) per 10 µg/m 3 increase in PM 2.5 . 43 Three studies assessed the relationship between acute exposure to PM 10 and absolute difference in FEV 1 . 25 38 40 A random effects model yielded a pooled estimate of absolute difference in FEV 1 of 0.05 mL (95% CI −0.10 to 0.20) associated with 10 µg/m 3 increase in exposure to PM 10 (figure 2B).…”

Interactive effects of changing stratospheric ozone and climate on tropospheric composition and air quality, and the consequences for human and ecosystem health

“…A study of lung function in response to daily measures of air pollutants was carried out in Belgium. 93 Several repeated measures of lung function were obtained from 2449 adults over a 4-year period between 2011 and 2015. No significant association was observed for O3, but several measures of lung function decreased in response to elevated concentrations of PM10 and NO2 in the days prior to testing.…”