Experimental data for total deposition in the respiratory tract of children

Abstract

Up to now only few experimental data for total deposition of inhaled aerosol particles are available for children. In this study 29 healthy children aged between 3 and 14 years volunteered for the determination of 1 μm, 2 μm and 3 μm particles for spontaneous and controlled breathing. It turns out that total deposition values for children are higher than for adults. The effect is significant for all particle sizes (Kruskal-Wallis). For the applied breathing patterns deposition decreases as a function of body height. For inhalation risk assessments the number of particles deposited per unit time (deposition rate) rather than the deposition per breath has to be taken. During spontaneous breathing at rest the deposition rate is on average higher for children than for adults.