Prevalence rates of respiratory symptoms in Italian general population samples exposed to different levels of air pollution

Journal Article · Thu Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1991 · Environmental Health Perspectives; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2307/3431299· OSTI ID:6094068

Viegi, G ^[1]; Paoletti, P; Carrozzi, L; Vellutini, M; Diviggiano, E; Pistelli, G; Giutini, G ^[2]; Di Pede, C ^[3]; Lebowitz, M D ^[4]

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1. Univ. of Pisa (Italy) Univ. of Arizona, Tucson (United States)
2. Univ. of Pisa (Italy)
3. Univ. of Arizona, Tucson (United States) Occupational Medicine Service, Toscana (Italy)
4. Univ. of Arizona, Tucson (United States)

The authors surveyed two general population samples aged 8 to 64 living in the unpolluted, rural area of the Po Delta (northern Italy) and in the urban area of Pisa (central Italy). Each subject filled out a standardized interviewer-administered questionnaire. The Pisa sample was divided into three groups according to their residence in the urban-suburban areas and to outdoor air pollution exposure (automobile exhaust only or industrial fumes as well). Significantly higher prevalence rates of all the respiratory symptoms and diseases were found in Pisa compared with the Po Delta. Current smoking was more frequent in the rural area, but the urban smokers had a higher lifetime cigarette consumption. Childhood respiratory trouble and recurrent respiratory illnesses were evenly distributed. Exposure to parental smoking in childhood and lower educational level were more frequent in Po Delta, whereas familial history of respiratory/allergic disorders and work and indoor exposures were more often reported in the city. Multiple logistic regression models estimating independently the role of the various risk factors showed significant odds ratios associated with residence in Pisa for all the symptoms but chronic phlegm. The conclusion, these preliminary analyses indicate an urban factor related to the rates of respiratory symptoms and diseases in Italy in the 1980s.

• OSTI ID: 6094068
• Journal Information: Environmental Health Perspectives; (United States), Journal Name: Environmental Health Perspectives; (United States) Vol. 94; ISSN 0091-6765; ISSN EVHPA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

560300* -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
AEROSOLS
AIR POLLUTION
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
COLLOIDS
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
DISEASE INCIDENCE
DISEASES
DISPERSIONS
EPIDEMIOLOGY
EUROPE
EXHAUST GASES
FLUIDS
GASEOUS WASTES
GASES
HUMAN POPULATIONS
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS
ITALY
MATHEMATICS
PO RIVER
POLLUTION
POPULATIONS
REGRESSION ANALYSIS
RESIDUES
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM DISEASES
RISK ASSESSMENT
RIVERS
RURAL AREAS
SMOKES
SOCIO-ECONOMIC FACTORS
SOLS
STATISTICS
STREAMS
SURFACE WATERS
TOBACCO SMOKES
URBAN AREAS
WASTES