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- Title
Early Childhood Lower Respiratory Illness and Air Pollution.
- Authors
Hertz-Picciotto, Irva; Baker, Rebecca James; Poh-Sin Yap; Dostál, Miroslav; Joad, Jesse P.; Lipsett, Michael; Greenfield, Teri; Herr, Caroline E. W.; Beneš, Ivan; Shumway, Robert H.; Pinkerton, Kent E.; šrám, Radim
- 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 μm in diameter (PM2.5) 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/m³ PAHs and of 25 μg/m³ PM2.5 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.
- Subjects
CZECH Republic; BRONCHITIS in children; OBSTRUCTIVE lung diseases; AIR pollution monitoring; POLYCYCLIC aromatic hydrocarbons; PRESCHOOL children; DISEASES; STATISTICAL hypothesis testing; RESPIRATORY infections in children
- Publication
Environmental Health Perspectives, 2007, Vol 115, Issue 10, p1510
- ISSN
0091-6765
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1289/ehp.9617