The adverse effect of low levels of ambient air pollutants on lung function growth in preadolescent children.

Abstract

The main purpose of our study was to assess the effect of low concentrations of ambient air polludion on lung function growth in preadolescent children. We accounted for height velocity over the follow-up period and also for other possible confounders such as baseline anthropometric and physiologic characteristics of children. In addition to outdoor air pollution, we considered the possible effkcs of social dass and exposure to indoor pollutant such as gas stove fiumes or environmental tobacco smoke. The cohort prospective study was carried out in 1,001 preadolescent children from two areas of Krakow, Poland, that The analysis also confirmed that for SLFG(FEV1) the OR was 1.90 (CI, 1.12-3.25). The corresponding OR values in girls were insignificant (OR = 1.50; CI, 0.84-2.68 and OR -1.39; CI, 0.78-2.44). The assciation between ambient pollutants and poorer gain of pulmonary volumes in children living in more polluted areas suggests that air pollution in the residence area may be a part of the causal chain of reactions leading to retardation in pulmonary fiuction growth during the preadolescent years.

Influence of PM1 and PM2.5 on lung function parameters in healthy schoolchildren—a panel study

“…The association between exposure to ambient PM and reduced lung function parameters has been reported in many studies (Jedrychowski et al 1999; Horak et al 2002; Roy et al 2012, Badyda et al 2015). In recent decades, numerous panel studies of the influence of PM pollution on children’s lung function and respiratory symptoms were conducted and showed greater adverse effects of PM 2.5 than PM 10 on respiratory health outcomes in children (Ward and Ayres 2004; Li et al 2012).…”

Mineral dust exposure in young Indian adults: an effect on lung growth?

“…A study in two areas of Krakow showed reduced gain of FVC in pre-adolescent children living in the more polluted area but it failed to take account of the potential confounding factor of socioeconomic differences between the two areas 13. An Austrian study14 showed that small increases in PM 10 levels of the order of just 0.01 mg/m 3 were associated with a halving of annual increases in FEV 1 in children but the study was invalidated15 by errors in the statistical analysis (with problems of “regression to the mean”).…”

Long term effects of prenatal and postnatal airborne PAH exposures on ventilatory lung function of non-asthmatic preadolescent children. Prospective birth cohort study in Krakow

“…For example, a study in Poland (Jedrychowski et al, 1999) assessed lung function growth (FVC and FEV 1 ) over 3-year follow up (1995 – 1997) in about 1,000 preadolescent schoolchildren from two areas of Krakow differing in levels of of PM 10 and SO 2 . The main endpoint variable was slow lung function growth, which was defined as a gain in spirometric values equal to or lower than the first (lowest) quintile of the distribution of a given spirometric test, The adjusted odds ratio for slow lung growth was significantly higher in the group of children from the more polluted city center than in those who lived in the less polluted peripheral part of the city (OR = 1.80, 95%CI: 1.26 – 2.58).…”

“…Although the results were not always consistent, they suggested that poor ambient air quality may be causally connected with impaired lung function. Longitudinal studies undertaken on chronic postnatal exposure provided further evidence on the role of air pollutants in the lung growth, but they did not show the type of lung damage attributable to individual components of ambient air pollution (Detels et al, 1991; Dockery and Brunekreft, 1996; Frischer et al, 1999; Gauderman et al, 2000, 2002, 2004; Jedrychowski et al, 1999). Moreover, the lack of epidemiologic studies on the prenatal effects of air pollutants made it impossible to assess the full impact of ambient air pollution on the natural history of lung function growth.…”