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- Bentayeb, M, et al.
(författare)
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Adverse respiratory effects of outdoor air pollution in the elderly
- 2012
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Ingår i: The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease. - : International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease. - 1027-3719 .- 1815-7920. ; 16:9, s. 1149-1161
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Compared to the rest of the population, the elderly are potentially highly susceptible to the effects of outdoor air pollution due to normal and pathological ageing. The purpose of the present review was to gather data on the effects on respiratory health of outdoor air pollution in the elderly, on whom data are scarce. These show statistically significant short-term and chronic adverse effects of various outdoor air pollutants on cardiopulmonary morbidity and mortality in the elderly. When exposed to air pollution, the elderly experience more hospital admissions for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and higher COPD mortality than others. Previous studies also indicate that research on the health effects of air pollution in the elderly has been affected by methodological problems in terms of exposure and health effect assessments. Few pollutants have been considered, and exposure assessment has been based mostly on background air pollution and more rarely on objective measurements and modelling. Significant progress needs to be made through the development of 'hybrid' models utilising the strengths of information on exposure in various environments to several air pollutants, coupled with daily activity exposure patterns. Investigations of chronic effects of air pollution and of multi-pollutant mixtures are needed to better understand the role of air pollution in the elderly. Lastly, smoking, occupation, comorbidities, treatment and the neighbourhood context should be considered as confounders or modifiers of such a role. In this context, the underlying biological, physiological and toxicological mechanisms need to be explored to better understand the phenomenon through a multidisciplinary approach.
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| 2. |
- Bottai, M, et al.
(författare)
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Percentiles of inspiratory capacity in healthy nonsmokers: a pilot study
- 2011
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Ingår i: Respiration. - : S. Karger AG. - 1423-0356 .- 0025-7931. ; 82:3, s. 254-262
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- <i>Background:</i> Over the past decade inspiratory capacity (IC) has received increasing attention, especially in studies on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Though a few recent studies provide reference values for IC, still little is known on the distribution of its values in healthy subjects. <i>Objective:</i> To estimate percentiles of IC in a sample of healthy nonsmokers by applying quantile regression. <i>Methods:</i> We applied quantile regression to estimate seven percentiles of IC from 5 to 95% for a given age, height and body mass index, separately in males and females, in a sample of 411 healthy nonsmokers, aged 8–73 years, drawn from the general population in Northern Italy. <i>Results:</i> The magnitude and statistical significance of the effect of age, height and body mass on IC varied across percentiles and between genders. When the 50th percentile of IC was compared with the predicted values of several studies, including those published by the European Community for Coal and Steel, the differences were as large as 0.86 liters in males and 0.90 liters in females. The possible advantage of the 5th percentile predicted from quantile regression over the ‘traditional 5th percentile’ as lower limit of normal was also illustrated. <i>Conclusions:</i> Inference on percentiles, rather than just the mean, of IC and other lung function measures may help in the future to better understand the effect of various risk factors, model growth curves and derive more accurate reference values.
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| 4. |
- Simoni, M., et al.
(författare)
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School air quality related to dry cough, rhinitis and nasal patency in children
- 2010
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Ingår i: European Respiratory Journal. - : European Respiratory Society (ERS). - 0903-1936 .- 1399-3003. ; 35:4, s. 742-749
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Controls for indoor air quality (IAQ) in schools are not usually performed throughout Europe. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of IAQ on respiratory health of schoolchildren living in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, France and Italy. In the cross-sectional European Union-funded HESE (Health Effects of School Environment) Study, particulate matter with a 50% cut-off aerodynamic diameter of 10 mu m (PM10) and CO2 levels in a day of normal activity (full classroom) were related to wheezing, dry cough at night and rhinitis in 654 children (10 yrs) and to acoustic rhinometry in 193 children. Schoolchildren exposed to PM10 >50 mu g.m(-3) and CO2 >1,000 ppm (standards for good IAQ) were 78% and 66%, respectively. All disorders were more prevalent in children from poorly ventilated classrooms. Schoolchildren exposed to CO2 levels >1,000 ppm showed a significantly higher risk for dry cough (OR 2.99, 95% CI 1.65-5.44) and rhinitis (OR 2.07, 95% CI 1.14-3.73). By two-level (child, classroom) hierarchical analyses, CO2 was significantly associated with dry cough (OR 1.06, 95% CI 1.00-1.13 per 100 ppm increment) and rhinitis (OR 1.06, 95% CI 1.00-1.11). Nasal patency was significantly lower in schoolchildren exposed to PM10 >50 mu g.m(-3) than in those exposed to lower levels. A poor IAQ is frequent in European classrooms; it is related to respiratory disturbances and affects nasal patency.
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