Title |
Short-term air pollution exposure decreases lung function: a repeated measures study in healthy adults
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Published in |
Environmental Health, June 2017
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DOI | 10.1186/s12940-017-0271-z |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Luc Int Panis, Eline B Provost, Bianca Cox, Tijs Louwies, Michelle Laeremans, Arnout Standaert, Evi Dons, Luc Holmstock, Tim Nawrot, Patrick De Boever |
Abstract |
Daily 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. To 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. The mean (SD) PM10 concentration on the day of the lung function test was 24.9 (15.5) μg/m(3). A 10 μg PM10/m(3) 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/m(3) 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. We found negative associations between daily variations in ambient air pollution and FVC, FEV1 and PEF in healthy adults. |
X Demographics
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Belgium | 13 | 17% |
United Kingdom | 12 | 16% |
Netherlands | 9 | 12% |
United States | 3 | 4% |
Italy | 1 | 1% |
Central African Republic | 1 | 1% |
Colombia | 1 | 1% |
Finland | 1 | 1% |
Rwanda | 1 | 1% |
Other | 6 | 8% |
Unknown | 27 | 36% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Members of the public | 60 | 80% |
Scientists | 7 | 9% |
Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 6 | 8% |
Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 2 | 3% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Belgium | 2 | 1% |
Unknown | 160 | 99% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Researcher | 20 | 12% |
Student > Master | 20 | 12% |
Student > Ph. D. Student | 19 | 12% |
Student > Bachelor | 19 | 12% |
Student > Doctoral Student | 13 | 8% |
Other | 26 | 16% |
Unknown | 45 | 28% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Environmental Science | 31 | 19% |
Medicine and Dentistry | 23 | 14% |
Nursing and Health Professions | 9 | 6% |
Engineering | 8 | 5% |
Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 7 | 4% |
Other | 30 | 19% |
Unknown | 54 | 33% |