ANNOYANCE DUE TO AIR POLLUTION IN EUROPE

Abstract

ISEE-76 Introduction: Annoyance might be both an outcome of air pollution and a marker of perceived exposure. Although annoyance due to air pollution has been poorly studied, it is known that some factors like age, or presence of a respiratory illness can influence annoyance. The objective of this study was to assess sociodemographic factors or respiratory symptoms related to annoyance in an international setting. Methods: The European Community Respiratory Health Survey II (ECRHSII) was conducted in 2000-01, in 25 European centers in 12 countries and in two non-European centers. 8770 randomly selected adult participants aged 27-58 years (52 percent females) were included in this analysis. Annoyance due to air pollution was self-reported on an 11 points scale (0: no disturbance at all, 10: intolerable disturbance). Demographic and socioeconomic factors, smoking status and presence of respiratory symptoms or disease were measured through a standard questionnaire. Random effect meta-analysis method was used. Results: Fifty-seven percent of subject reported some kind of annoyance (i.e., more than 0 on the scale). The general mean was 2.17 and the median 1. Fourteen percent reported high annoyance, 6 or more on the scale, and only 6% are highly annoyed, from 8 to 10 on the scale. Distribution of annoyance by centers was heterogeneous, with less annoyance in Northern countries and more in Southern ones (median range from 0 in Bergen, Norway to 5 in Huelva, Spain). In general in Scandinavian and Nordic centers, the proportion of subjects reporting higher levels of education was larger, and levels of smoking and traffic were lower. At individual level, high education (OR 1.71 95% CI 1.41-2.07) and median education (OR 1.51 95% CI 1.24-1.83) were related to any annoyance for the same level of traffic intensity and reported respiratory symptoms in all centers, also adjusting for gender and smoking. Very similar results were obtained for the outcome “highly annoyed” (OR 1.52 95% CI 1.02-2.24 for medium education and OR 1.87 95% CI 1.25-2.78 for high education). Females, never smokers, passive smokers, subjects reporting shortness of breath at night, phlegm and rhinitis reported more annoyance. All the adjusted OR have a non-heterogeneous distribution. Wheezing, asthma and season of the interview were unrelated with annoyance. Conclusions: Fourteen percent of the population in 12 European countries reported high annoyance due to air pollution. The association of gender, education, health and smoking status with annoyance shows that a subjective score captures both environmental and personal characteristics.