BACKGROUND: Air pollutants have been associated with the exacerbation of respiratory diseases. They may intensify the inflammatory allergic response and airways reactivity to inhaled allergens. However, it is still not clear if air pollution contributes to the increased prevalence of asthma. OBJECTIVE: To investigate if different levels of air pollution exposure can be related to differences in the prevalence of asthma. METHODS: The International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) protocol was used to determine and compare the prevalence of asthma among schoolchildren in 2 cities of the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Duque de Caxias (DC) and Seropédica (SR), which have different levels of atmospheric pollution. The research involved 4,064 students aged 13 to 14 years from 49 schools in DC and 1,129 from 17 schools in SR. Air pollution was evaluated by the concentration of inhalable particulate matter (PM10). RESULTS: ISAAC's written questionnaire was answered by 4,040 students aged 13 to 14 years in DC and 1,080 in SR. Between 1998 and 2000, the PM10 annual arithmetic mean was 124 microg/m3 in DC and 35 microg/m3 in SR (acceptable level is up to 50 microg/m3). The prevalence of wheezing ever was 35.1% in DC and 29.9% in SR (P = .001), and the prevalence of wheezing in the last 12 months was 19.0% in DC and 15.0% in SR (P = .002). In DC, 14.5% of the adolescents presented 1 to 3 crises of wheezing in the last year, whereas in SR only 11.0% presented 1 to 3 crises (P = .003). CONCLUSIONS: In this study, the prevalence of asthma in adolescents was directly related to atmospheric pollution.
BACKGROUND: Air pollutants have been associated with the exacerbation of respiratory diseases. They may intensify the inflammatory allergic response and airways reactivity to inhaled allergens. However, it is still not clear if air pollution contributes to the increased prevalence of asthma. OBJECTIVE: To investigate if different levels of air pollution exposure can be related to differences in the prevalence of asthma. METHODS: The International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) protocol was used to determine and compare the prevalence of asthma among schoolchildren in 2 cities of the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Duque de Caxias (DC) and Seropédica (SR), which have different levels of atmospheric pollution. The research involved 4,064 students aged 13 to 14 years from 49 schools in DC and 1,129 from 17 schools in SR. Air pollution was evaluated by the concentration of inhalable particulate matter (PM10). RESULTS: ISAAC's written questionnaire was answered by 4,040 students aged 13 to 14 years in DC and 1,080 in SR. Between 1998 and 2000, the PM10 annual arithmetic mean was 124 microg/m3 in DC and 35 microg/m3 in SR (acceptable level is up to 50 microg/m3). The prevalence of wheezing ever was 35.1% in DC and 29.9% in SR (P = .001), and the prevalence of wheezing in the last 12 months was 19.0% in DC and 15.0% in SR (P = .002). In DC, 14.5% of the adolescents presented 1 to 3 crises of wheezing in the last year, whereas in SR only 11.0% presented 1 to 3 crises (P = .003). CONCLUSIONS: In this study, the prevalence of asthma in adolescents was directly related to atmospheric pollution.
Authors: Katherine K Nishimura; Joshua M Galanter; Lindsey A Roth; Sam S Oh; Neeta Thakur; Elizabeth A Nguyen; Shannon Thyne; Harold J Farber; Denise Serebrisky; Rajesh Kumar; Emerita Brigino-Buenaventura; Adam Davis; Michael A LeNoir; Kelley Meade; William Rodriguez-Cintron; Pedro C Avila; Luisa N Borrell; Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo; Jose R Rodriguez-Santana; Śaunak Sen; Fred Lurmann; John R Balmes; Esteban G Burchard Journal: Am J Respir Crit Care Med Date: 2013-08-01 Impact factor: 21.405
Authors: Neide Regina Simoes Olmo; Paulo Hilário do Nascimento Saldiva; Alfésio Luís Ferreira Braga; Chin An Lin; Ubiratan de Paula Santos; Luiz Alberto Amador Pereira Journal: Clinics (Sao Paulo) Date: 2011 Impact factor: 2.365
Authors: Sérgio Souza da Cunha; Mar Pujades-Rodriguez; Mauricio Lima Barreto; Bernd Genser; Laura C Rodrigues Journal: BMC Public Health Date: 2007-08-13 Impact factor: 3.295
Authors: Gregory B Diette; Nadia N Hansel; Timothy J Buckley; Jean Curtin-Brosnan; Peyton A Eggleston; Elizabeth C Matsui; Meredith C McCormack; D'Ann L Williams; Patrick N Breysse Journal: Environ Health Perspect Date: 2007-11 Impact factor: 9.031
Authors: Lawrence D Lemke; Lois E Lamerato; Xiaohong Xu; Jason C Booza; John J Reiners; Delbert M Raymond Iii; Paul J Villeneuve; Eric Lavigne; Dana Larkin; Helene J Krouse Journal: J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol Date: 2013-11-13 Impact factor: 5.563