Title: | Early childhood lower respiratory illness and air pollution |
Author(s): | Hertz-Picciotto I; Baker RJ; Yap PS; Dostal M; Joad JP; Lipsett M; Greenfield T; Herr CE; Benes I; Shumway RH; Pinkerton KE; Sram R; |
Address: | "Department of Public Health Sciences, University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA. ihp@ucdavis.edu" |
ISSN/ISBN: | 0091-6765 (Print) 1552-9924 (Electronic) 0091-6765 (Linking) |
Abstract: | "BACKGROUND: Few studies of air pollutants address morbidity in preschool children. In this study we evaluated bronchitis in children from two Czech districts: Teplice, with high ambient air pollution, and Prachatice, characterized by lower exposures. OBJECTIVES: Our goal was to examine rates of lower respiratory illnesses in preschool children in relation to ambient particles and hydrocarbons. METHODS: Air monitoring for particulate matter < 2.5 microm in diameter (PM(2.5)) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was conducted daily, every third day, or every sixth day. Children born May 1994 through December 1998 were followed to 3 or 4.5 years of age to ascertain illness diagnoses. Mothers completed questionnaires at birth and at follow-up regarding demographic, lifestyle, reproductive, and home environmental factors. Longitudinal multivariate repeated-measures analysis was used to quantify rate ratios for bronchitis and for total lower respiratory illnesses in 1,133 children. RESULTS: After adjustment for season, temperature, and other covariates, bronchitis rates increased with rising pollutant concentrations. Below 2 years of age, increments in 30-day averages of 100 ng/m(3) PAHs and of 25 microg/m(3) PM(2.5) resulted in rate ratios (RRs) for bronchitis of 1.29 [95 % confidence interval (CI), 1.07-1.54] and 1.30 (95% CI, 1.08-1.58), respectively; from 2 to 4.5 years of age, these RRs were 1.56 (95% CI, 1.22-2.00) and 1.23 (95% CI, 0.94-1.62), respectively. CONCLUSION: Ambient PAHs and fine particles were associated with early-life susceptibility to bronchitis. Associations were stronger for longer pollutant-averaging periods and, among children > 2 years of age, for PAHs compared with fine particles. Preschool-age children may be particularly vulnerable to air pollution-induced illnesses" |
Keywords: | "Air Pollutants/*toxicity Bronchiolitis/*epidemiology Bronchitis/*epidemiology Child, Preschool Cohort Studies Czech Republic/epidemiology Environmental Exposure/*adverse effects Female Humans Infant Infant, Newborn Male Pneumonia/*epidemiology Polycyclic;" |
Notes: | "MedlineHertz-Picciotto, Irva Baker, Rebecca James Yap, Poh-Sin Dostal, Miroslav Joad, Jesse P Lipsett, Michael Greenfield, Teri Herr, Caroline E W Benes, Ivan Shumway, Robert H Pinkerton, Kent E Sram, Radim eng R01-ES11634/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/ P01 ES011269/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/ P01-ES11269/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/ R03 TW007152/TW/FIC NIH HHS/ P30 ES005707/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/ R01-CA96525/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ P30-ES05707/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/ R01 ES011634/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/ R01 CA096525/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ R03-TW007152-01A1/TW/FIC NIH HHS/ Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. 2007/10/17 Environ Health Perspect. 2007 Oct; 115(10):1510-8. doi: 10.1289/ehp.9617" |