Air pollution and respiratory symptoms in pre-school children

Conference · · Archives of Environmental Health; (USA)

OSTI ID:5768364

Braun-Fahrlander, C; Ackermann-Liebrich, U ^[1]; Schwartz, J ^[2]; Wanner, H U ^[3]

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1. Abt. fur Sozial- und Praventivmedizin, Basel (Switzerland)
2. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC (USA)
3. Institute fur Hygiene und Arbeitsphysiologie, Zurich (Switzerland)

A diary study on a random sample of 1,063 Swiss children aged 0-5 y was conducted in four different areas of Switzerland (two urban, one suburban, and one rural area) to investigate the association between air pollution and respiratory symptoms. Passive samplers inside and outside the home measured NO{sub 2} concentration during the 6 wk each child was studied. Diaries were completed by parents, and 20% of them were validated with the attending pediatrician's case notes. Other pollutants were measured by city monitor in the two urban locations. Incidence and duration of symptom episodes were examined separately. The study included any episode: episodes of coughing without runny nose, upper respiratory episodes, and episodes of breathing difficulty. Annual average NO{sub 2} was associated with the duration of any episode and of upper respiratory episodes in Poisson regressions that controlled for medical history. Nitrogen dioxide (NO{sub 2}) was not associated with the incidence of episodes. In regressions using 6-wk average pollution, NO{sub 2} measured outdoors, but not indoors, was associated with the duration of any symptom. Total suspended particulates were a more significant predictor of duration in the two urban locations where it was available. Six-week average TSP was also associated with the incidence of coughing episodes. We conclude that duration of respiratory symptom episodes are associated with particulate concentrations, and possibly with NO{sub 2}.

• OSTI ID: 5768364
• Report Number(s): CONF-890937-; CODEN: AEHLA
• Journal Information: Archives of Environmental Health; (USA), Vol. 45:5; Conference: 1. annual meeting of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology, Upton, NY (USA), 13-15 Sep 1989; ISSN 0003-9896
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
NITROGEN DIOXIDE
HEALTH HAZARDS
AIR POLLUTION
CHILDREN
MAN
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM DISEASES
SWITZERLAND
AGE GROUPS
ANIMALS
CHALCOGENIDES
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
DISEASES
EUROPE
HAZARDS
MAMMALS
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
NITROGEN OXIDES
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POLLUTION
PRIMATES
VERTEBRATES
550900* - Pathology
540110