Long-term particulate and other air pollutants and lung function in nonsmokers

DE Abbey, RJ Burchette, SF Knutsen… - American journal of …, 1998 - atsjournals.org
DE Abbey, RJ Burchette, SF Knutsen, WF McDonnell, MD Lebowitz, PL Enright
American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine, 1998atsjournals.org
The associations between lung function measures (spirometry and peak expiratory flow
lability) and estimated 20-yr ambient concentrations of respirable particles, suspended
sulfates, sulfur dioxide, ozone, and indoor particles were studied in a sample of 1,391
nonsmokers followed since 1977. Differences in air pollutants across the population were
associated with decrements of lung function. An increase of 54 d/yr when particles< 10 μ m
in diameter (PM10) exceeded 100 μ g/m3 was associated with a 7.2% decrement in FEV1 …
The associations between lung function measures (spirometry and peak expiratory flow lability) and estimated 20-yr ambient concentrations of respirable particles, suspended sulfates, sulfur dioxide, ozone, and indoor particles were studied in a sample of 1,391 nonsmokers followed since 1977. Differences in air pollutants across the population were associated with decrements of lung function. An increase of 54 d/yr when particles < 10 μ m in diameter (PM10) exceeded 100 μ g/m3 was associated with a 7.2% decrement in FEV1, as percent of predicted, in males whose parents had asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, or hay fever and with increased peak expiratory flow lability of 0.8% for all females and 0.6% for all males. An increase in mean SO4 concentration of 1.6 μ g/m3 was associated with a 1.5% decrement in FEV1, as percent of predicted, in all males. An increase of 23 ppb of ozone as an 8-h average was associated with a 6.3% decrement in FEV1, as percent of predicted, in males whose parents had asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, or hay fever.
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