Short-term effects of air pollution on lung function of school-age children in Hangzhou

Abstract

A total of 1 685 school-age children selected from Hangzhou received lung function testing to evaluate the short-term effects of air pollution on their lung function. The results showed that in every 10 μg/m(3) increase of average concentration of PM(2.5) and PM(10) on the day of the test and the day before the test,peak expiratory flow (PEF) decreased 0.039 (95%CI: 0.012-0.067) L/s and 0.031 (95% CI:0.011-0.051) L/s,respectively. When the average concentration of SO(2) increased 10 μg/m(3) on the day of test and the day prior to the test, PEF and 75% of the forced vital capacity that has not been exhaled (MEF(75)) decreased 0.437 (95%CI: 0.217-0.658) L/s and 0.396 (95%CI: 0.180-0.613) L/s. After being adjusted for NO(2),with every 10 μg/m(3) increase of average concentration of PM(2.5) and PM(10) on the day of the test and the day before the test,PEF and MEF(75) decreased 0.056 (95%CI: 0.028-0.085), 0.053(95%CI: 0.027-0.081) and 0.047 (95%CI: 0.026-0.068) L/s,0.044 (95%CI: 0.023-0.065) L/s on the day before the test, respectively. The results indicate that air pollution have short-term and lag effects on lung function of school-age children in Hangzhou.