| 1. |
- Forsberg, Bertil, et al.
(författare)
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Air pollution and respiratory health of children : the PEACE panel study in Umea., Sweden.
- 1998
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Ingår i: European Respiratory Review. - 0905-9180 .- 1600-0617. ; 8:52, s. 12-19
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Pollution Effects on Asthmatic Children in Europe (PEACE) study examined the acute effects of short-term changes in air pollution on symptomatic children. We were one of 14 research centres in Europe that used a common study protocol. Seventy five children in an urban panel and 72 children in a control panel, selected with a screening questionnaire, were characterized with lung function tests and skin-prick tests and followed in a 12 week diary study. Identical air quality monitoring stations were set up in our two study areas. The levels and ranges in concentrations for all air pollution indices were small. A negative correlation was seen between time spent outdoors and pollution levels, which may have weakened the correlation between personal exposure and outdoor concentrations and obscured any effect of air pollution. No consistent pattern of relations between air pollution and adverse effects were found, but particulates and nitrogen dioxide tended to be associated with a nonsignificant increase in symptoms and medication use on the same day. No clear effect of air pollution on respiratory health could be demonstrated.
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| 2. |
- Forsberg, Bertil, et al.
(författare)
-
Daily air pollution levels and acute asthma in southern Sweden
- 1998
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Ingår i: European Respiratory Journal. - Copenhagen : Munksgaard Forlag. - 0903-1936 .- 1399-3003. ; 12:4, s. 900-905
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study aimed to investigate the association between daily air pollution levels and the occurrence of acute respiratory signs and symptoms among people with asthma or asthma-like problems.Thirty eight subjects in the southern Swedish city of Landskrona kept a daily diary for 10 weeks. The daily prevalence of symptoms, supplementary bronchodilator use and peak flow deviations were compared with measurements of environmental nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulphur dioxide, temperature and humidity in the city.The occurrence of severe asthma, both during the day and during the evening, was significantly positively associated with the concurrent 24 h average concentration of NO2, which never exceeded 72 microg x m(-3). A correlation of borderline significance was found between the use of on-demand medication and the NO2 level. However, peak flow deviations were not associated with air pollution or weather conditions, which may be explained by the beneficial effect of bronchodilators used by 28 of the subjects.The results of this study confirm those of some earlier studies and suggest that aggravation of asthma is related to daily variations in air quality, as indicated by relatively low ambient concentrations of nitrogen dioxide. These results also indicate that it may be appropriate to examine severe asthma symptoms separately.
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