Health effects of acid aerosols on North American children: Pulmonary function

Journal Article · Wed May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1996 · Environmental Health Perspectives

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.96104506· OSTI ID:457712

Raizenne, M ^[1]; Damokosh, A I; Spengler, J D ^[2]

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1. Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA (United States)
2. Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA (United States); and others

We examined the health effects of exposure to acidic air pollution among children living in 24 communities in the United States and Canada. Parents of children between the ages of 8 and 12 completed a self-administered questionnaire and provided consent for their child to perform a standardized forced expiratory maneuver at school in 22 of these communities. Air quality and meteorology were measured in each community for the year preceding the pulmonary function tests. Forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in 1 sec (FEV{sub 1.0}) measurements of 10,251 white children were examined in a two-stage regression analysis that adjusted for age, sex, height, weight, and sex-height interaction. In this study, a 52 nmol/m{sup 3} difference in annual mean particle strong acidity was associated with a 3.5% (95% CI, 2.0-4.9) decrement in adjusted FVC and a 3.1% (95% CI, 1.6-4.6) decrement in adjusted FEV{sub 1.0}. The FVC decrement was larger, although not significantly different, for children who were lifelong residents of their communities (4.1%, 95% CI, 2.5-5.8). The relative odds for low lung function (that is, measured FVC less than or equal to 85% of predicted), was 2.5 (95% CI, 1.8-3.6) across the range of particle strong acidity exposures. These data suggest that long-term exposure to ambient particle strong acidity may have a deleterious effect on lung growth, development, and function. 45 refs., 5 figs., 6 tabs.

• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• OSTI ID: 457712
• Journal Information: Environmental Health Perspectives, Journal Name: Environmental Health Perspectives Journal Issue: 5 Vol. 104; ISSN 0091-6765; ISSN EVHPAZ
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
02 PETROLEUM
20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
56 BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
APPLIED STUDIES
AEROSOLS
AIR POLLUTION
AIR QUALITY
ASTHMA
BRONCHITIS
CHILDREN
COMBUSTION PRODUCTS
FOSSIL FUELS
HEALTH HAZARDS
LUNGS
PROBABILITY
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM DISEASES
SULFATES