Environmental Exposure Nox and Respiratory Symptoms in Children

Abstract

Environmental Exposure Nox and Respiratory Symptoms in ChildrenAbstract Number:2768 Consuelo Escamilla*, Albino Barraza, Leticia Hernández-Cadena Consuelo Escamilla* Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública de México / Universidad Autónoma de México, Mexico, E-mail Address: [email protected] Search for more papers by this author , Albino Barraza Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública de México, Mexico, E-mail Address: [email protected] Search for more papers by this author , and Leticia Hernández-Cadena Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Mexico, E-mail Address: [email protected] Search for more papers by this author AbstractBackground. Early exposure to air pollution is crucial in the development of the immune response, and monitoring of respiratory symptoms is important in the diagnostic and management of respiratory diseases in children with aged under five years old. Objective: To evaluate the impact of air pollution on respiratory symptoms in mexican children and evaluated the interaction between supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids and air pollution exposure in this population.Methods. A randomized double-blind clinical trial was conducted in Cuernavaca,Morelos, Mexico and for the present report we include 869 mother-child pairs. Mothers were randomized to receive 400 mg of Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) supplement or placebo daily from week 18-22 of pregnancy until delivery. Questionnaires were administered and maternal blood samples were obtained at baseline. During follow-up, information on infants’respiratory symptoms was collected through questionnaires administered at 1, 3, 6, 9, 12 and 18 months of age. For environmental exposure, we conducted local monitoring for the measurement of atmospheric nitric oxide (NO, ppb), oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in different parts of the city. Negative binomial regression models were used to evaluate the effect of air pollution exposure on respiratory symptoms in infants with precedent of prenatal consumption of omega-3 fatty acids.Results. The NO2 and toluene air concentrations were significantly related to the respiratory symptoms (Breathing Difficulty and Coughing with phlegm (p<0.05) in children whose mothers were supplement with DHA.Conclusions: Our results support the hypothesis that DHA supplementation during pregnancy may modulate the incidence of respiratory symptoms in children who are exposed to air pollution.