Abstract
The objective of the present study was to determine the impact of acute short-term exposure to air pollution on the cardiorespiratory performance of military firemen living and working in the city of Guarujá, São Paulo, Brazil. Twenty-five healthy non-smoking firemen aged 24 to 45 years had about 1 h of exposure to low and high levels of air pollution. The tests consisted of two phases: phase A, in Bertioga, a town with low levels of air pollution, and phase B, in Cubatão, a polluted town, with a 7-day interval between phases. The volunteers remained in the cities (Bertioga/Cubatão) only for the time required to perform the tests. Cumulative load 10 +/- 2 min-long exertion tests were performed on a treadmill, consisting of a 2-min stage at a load of 7 km/h, followed by increasing exertion of 1 km h-1 min-1 until the maximum individual limit. There were statistically significant differences (P < 0.05) in anaerobic threshold (AT) between Cubatão (35.04 +/- 4.91 mL kg-1 min-1) and Bertioga (36.98 +/- 5.62 mL kg-1 min-1; P = 0.01), in the heart rate at AT (AT HR; Cubatão 152.08 +/- 14.86 bpm, Bertioga 157.44 +/- 13.64 bpm; P = 0.001), and in percent maximal oxygen consumption at AT (AT%VO2max; Cubatão 64.56 +/- 6.55%, Bertioga 67.40 +/- 5.35%; P = 0.03). However, there were no differences in VO2max, maximal heart rate or velocity at AT (ATvel) observed in firemen between towns. The acute exposure to pollutants in Cubatão, SP, caused a significant reduction in the performance at submaximal levels of physical exertion.
Highlights
Much has been discussed regarding the improvement of quality of life with regular physical exercise, few studies are available about the cardiorespiratory response evaluated on the basis of O2 uptake, transport, and utilization in areas with high concentrations of pollutants in the atmosphere [1,2,3]
The purpose of the present study was to determine if a brief acute exposure to environmental levels of air pollution interferes with objective indicators of cardiopulmonary function during exercise
Most of the acute effects of air pollution on health have been obtained for individuals with previous respiratory or cardiovascular diseases
Summary
Much has been discussed regarding the improvement of quality of life with regular physical exercise, few studies are available about the cardiorespiratory response evaluated on the basis of O2 uptake, transport, and utilization in areas with high concentrations of pollutants in the atmosphere [1,2,3]. In large urban centers and industrial areas, “in the fight for health and longevity”, people are forced to exercise in areas with inadequate conditions, extreme temperatures, little ventilation, low impact absorption soil, and, above all, a direct contact with air pollution [4]. The World Health Organization estimates that more than 1.5 billion people may be living in areas where the air contamination exceeds the recommendation limits [5]. Studies have shown that the air of São Paulo city induces damage to the respiratory tract of rats. The chronic exposure of these animals to the air of downtown São Paulo produced an inflammatory process in respiratory tissue extending from the upper airways to the pulmonary alveoli [6]
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