Residential Ambient Air Pollution and Lung Function

Abstract

SAB5-O-06 Introduction: Several studies have reported associations between ambient air pollution and lung function. However, most of these studies used exposure on aggregated level, and not on individual level. The aim of this study is to study the relation between residential long-term, both in early and late years of life, and short-term air pollution exposures and lung function in 9- and 10-year-old children living in one city. Methods: Air pollution exposure was assessed by a dispersion model based on emissions, meteorology, topography, and background air pollution concentrations. The model calculates hourly concentrations of NO2, PM10, and PM2.5 for each km2 and at thousands of receptor points. Early and late long-term exposure was calculated as the average concentration in first year of life and in the calendar year preceding the lung function examination, respectively. Short-term exposure was the average concentration of lag1-lag3 relative to the examination date. Pulmonary function outcomes (PEF, FEF25%, FEF50%, FEV1, and FVC) were measured in 2679 children, and only children with valid outcomes and valid address in both early and late years were included in the analyses (n = 1914). We used multiple linear regression stratified by sex to study the relation between residential air pollution and lung function, and adjusted for height, body mass index, age, birth weight, any asthma confirmed medically including symptoms last 12 months, average temperature of lag1-lag3, parents’ education, smoking habits, and ethnicity. Results: The long-term residential concentration in first year ranged from 1.5 to 84.0 μg/m3, from 5.1 to 53.9 μg/m3, and from 5.1 to 26.9 μg/m3, for NO2, PM10, and PM2.5, respectively. The late concentrations were lower. The pollutants were highly correlated (correlation coefficients r = 0.77–0.95). Results showed that all the pollutants were associated with PEF, especially in girls; 10 μg/m3 increase of early NO2, PM10, and PM2.5 were associated with 38.3 mL/s (−65.1 to −11.5) (95% CI), 83.0 mL/s (−153.3 to −12.7), and 125.9 mL/s (−232.9 to −18.9) decline in PEF, respectively. We found similar associations with FEF25% and FEF50%, but no statistically significant long-term effects on FEV1 and FVC. For late long-term exposure, the associations were generally higher, especially for particulate matter. The short-term effects were lower than the long-term effects, and higher in girls than boys. Discussion and Conclusions: This study investigated both long- and short-term effects of ambient air pollution at residential addresses, and moderate air pollution levels may be associated with lung function in 9- and 10-year-old children, particularly girls.