The response ranges of pulmonary function and the impact criteria of weather and industrial influence on patients with asthma living in Vladivostok.

PURPOSE: To determine the response of pulmonary function (PF) to the influence of environmental factors in patients with different levels of asthma control.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients with controlled (136 people) and uncontrolled (96 people) asthma living in the conditions of monsoon climate and technogenic pollution in Vladivostok were examined. Discriminant analysis that provides the basis for dividing initial data into classes, as according to standards and expert estimates, was used to calculate ranges of PF response in asthma patients. The selection of discriminant functions with the highest values of constant and coefficient made it possible to identify the optimal quantitative ranges.
RESULTS: Analysis of the discriminant value of Wilks' lambda (α) has shown that the intensity of PF response to climatic and technogenic factors varies depending on level of disease control (controlled asthma - α = 0.67-0.79, uncontrolled asthma - α =0.05-0.44). The criteria and ranges of PF response also differ depending on level of disease control. In controlled asthma, PF response reflects an adaptive-compensatory dependence. The reaction to the environmental factors is rather weak; therefore, it could be detected by only more sensitive examination method (body plethysmography). In uncontrolled asthma, the response to the influence of environment quality is active and could be clearly identified by spirography.
CONCLUSIONS: The climatic and technogenic environment of Vladivostok causes strong pathogenic impact on patients with uncontrolled asthma. The effects of dust fraction 0-1 μm, deeply penetrating into respiratory organs, and day-to-day variability of wind speed, which induces weather sensitivity, are particularly adverse. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020.