Stronger association between particulate air pollution and pulmonary function among healthy students in fall than in spring

Abstract

Previous studies have reported the short-term effects of particulate air pollution on health. However, most of those studies were relatively short in duration, with only a few, in healthy adolescents. We investigated the short-term effects of particulate air pollution on pulmonary function in healthy adolescents over a long period. A panel study was repeatedly conducted twice a year for about one month each, in spring and fall from 2014 to 2016, in an isolated island in the Seto Inland Sea, Japan. Daily measurements of peak expiratory flow (PEF) and forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) were performed in a total of 48 healthy college students aged 15–19 years. The ambient concentrations of particulate matter with diameter ≤2.5 μm (PM2.5) and between 2.5 and 10 μm (PM10–2.5), and black carbon (BC) were continuously measured. A mixed-effects model was used to investigate the relationships between air pollutants and pulmonary function. In the overall analyses of the six study periods, decreases in the PEF and FEV1 were significantly associated with increases in the PM2.5 and BC concentrations. The greatest decrease was found in FEV1 (−1.97% [95% confidence interval (CI): −2.90, −1.04]), which was associated with an interquartile range (IQR) increase in the 0–72-h average concentrations of PM2.5 (14.1 μg/m3). Neither PEF nor FEV1 were associated with PM10–2.5 concentrations. In the analyses by season, both the PEF and FEV1 values decreased significantly in relation to increases in the PM2.5, PM10–2.5 and BC concentrations in the fall. However, in spring, both PEF and FEV1 showed weak associations with each of the pollutants. In conclusion, relatively low increases in the ambient particulate matter levels were associated with reduced pulmonary function among healthy adolescents. This association was stronger in fall than in spring.