| 1. |
- Forsberg, Bertil, et al.
(author)
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Air pollution levels, meteorological conditions and asthma symptoms
- 1993
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In: European Respiratory Journal. - 0903-1936 .- 1399-3003. ; 6:8, s. 1109-1115
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We wanted to assess relations between the daily occurrence of asthma symptoms and fluctuations of air pollution concentrations and meteorological conditions. In a panel of 31 asthmatic patients residing in the town of Piteå in northern Sweden, severe symptoms of shortness of breath, wheeze, cough and phlegm were recorded in an asthma diary together with suspected causes. Sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, black smoke, relative humidity and temperature were used to evaluate the relationship to the environment. By using multivariate analyses, we found that daily variations in the particulate pollution levels, indicated by black smoke levels below the criteria limits, had significant effects on the risk of developing severe symptoms of shortness of breath. This association was stronger among 10 subjects, who had at least five incident days with severe shortness of breath. Meteorological conditions were not significant in the multivariate models. Cough and phlegm did not show significant relationships to any environmental condition that was evaluated. Only one-third of the subjects reported, at least once during the study, symptoms believed to be related to air pollutants, although we found significant correlations between the pollution levels and the frequency of pollution-related symptoms. We conclude that an association has been established for black smoke as pollutant and shortness of breath as respiratory symptom, and that in certain asthmatics, effects were occurring at lower particulate levels than suggested previously.
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| 2. |
- Lundbäck, Bo, et al.
(author)
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Astma och allergiska sjukdomar i Sverige
- 1992
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In: Nordisk Medicin. - 0029-1420. ; 117:4, s. 112-5
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Frånvaro av standardiserade diagnostiska kriterier för astma och allergiska sjukdomar försvårar jämförelser på diagnosnivå, varför man inte med säkerhet kan säga att astma och allergiska sjukdomar ökat i Sverige under de senaste decennierna
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| 3. |
- Lundbäck, Bo, et al.
(author)
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Epidemiology of respiratory symptoms, lung function and important determinants : Report from the Obstructive Lung Disease in Northern Sweden project
- 1994
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In: Tubercle and Lung Disease. - 0962-8479 .- 1532-219X. ; 75:2, s. 116-126
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- SETTING: Cross-sectional epidemiological study based on a representative sample of the general population in northern Sweden. OBJECTIVES: To assess the prevalence of respiratory symptoms, the role of respiratory symptoms as indicators of impairment of lung function, and to define risk factors for respiratory symptoms and lung function impairment. DESIGN: The 1340 subjects of 6610 who reported respiratory symptoms suggestive of asthma or chronic bronchitis in a postal questionnaire study were invited to a structured interview and lung function tests. A control group of 315 subjects was also invited. Risk factors were assessed from the postal questionnaire. RESULTS: 400 subjects in the symptomatic group had attacks of breathlessness and wheezing, while none in the control group had them, corresponding to 7% of the original study population. Chronic productive cough was present in 537 subjects, of whom 13 were from the control group, suggesting that 12% of the original study population had this symptom. Persistent wheeze was the symptom that predicted the greatest proportion of cases of impaired lung function. Attacks of breathlessness, wheezing, long-standing cough and sputum production were all related to age, smoking and a family history of asthma. Both chronic productive cough and impaired lung function correlated strongly with smoking and age, and their prevalences differed in different socio-economic groups. CONCLUSION: Impaired lung function can be predicted from respiratory symptoms. Data collected in postal questionnaires suffice for the identification of risk factors. Combinations of symptoms gave greater odds ratios than individual symptoms.
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