Effect of air pollution on lung function in schoolchildren in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

• Autor(a) principal: Castro, Hermano Albuquerque de
• Data de Publicação: 2009
• Outros Autores: Cunha, Márcia Faria da, Mendonça, Gulnar Azevedo e Silva, Junger, Washington Leite, Cunha-Cruz, Joana, Leon, Antonio Ponce de
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por; eng
• Título da fonte: Revista de Saúde Pública
• Texto Completo: https://www.revistas.usp.br/rsp/article/view/32564
• topic: Poluição do Ar^i1^sefeitos adver; Criança; Testes de Função Respiratória; Exposição por Inalação; Doenças Respiratórias^i1^sprevenção & contr; Contaminación del Aire^i3^sefectos adver; Niño; Pruebas de Función Respiratoria; Exposición por Inhalación; Enfermedades Respiratorias^i3^sprevención & cont; Air Pollution^i2^sadverse effe; Child; Respiratory Function Tests; Inhalation Exposure; Respiratory Tract Diseases^i2^sprevention & cont

OBJECTIVE: To assess the association between daily exposure to air pollution and lung function in school children. METHODS: Panel study with a random sample of 118 students (between 6 and 15 years of age), enrolled in a public school of the city of Rio de Janeiro, state of Rio de Janeiro, and living within 2 km of the study site. Data on students' characteristics were obtained with a questionnaire, including the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood - ISAAC. Daily peak expiratory flow measurements were taken to measure lung function. Daily data on PM10, SO2, O3, NO2 and CO levels, temperature and humidity were provided by a portable monitor. Repeated measurements of lung function were associated with pollutant levels with a multilevel model adjusted for time trend, temperature, air humidity, exposure to smoking at home, presence of asthma, height, sex, weight and age of children. RESULTS: Mean peak expiratory flow was 243.5 l/m (sd=58.9). The lowest mean peak expiratory flow was 124 l/m, and the highest, 450 l/m. For the 10 µg/m³ increase in PM10, there was a 0.34 l/min decrease in mean peak flow on the third day. For the 10 µg/m³ increase in NO2, there was a decrease between 0.23 l/min and 0.28 l/min in mean peak flow after exposure. CO and SO2 effects on students' peak flow were not statistically significant. O3 showed a protective result: an increase in 10 µg/m³ of O3 would be associated, after a day of exposure, with a 0.2 l/min increase in mean lung function. CONCLUSIONS: Even within acceptable levels most of the time, air pollution, especially PM10 and NO2, was associated with a decrease in lung function in children living in the city of Rio de Janeiro.