International Journal of Environmental Health Research · Apr 25, 2022

Acute effects of ambient air pollution exposure on lung function in the elderly in Hangzhou, China

By Liao H, Chen S, Xu S et al.

Evidence of an association between acute air pollution exposure and lung function in the elderly is limited. This study is cross-sectional. We quantified the effects of air pollution exposure on lung function among 256 elderly by using a linear mixed model. The results revealed that air pollutants had lag effects on lung function after adjusting for confounders. PM2.5 (Lag03, Lag 03 was defined three-day moving average, and so forth), PM₁₀, NO₂ (Lag04-Lag05) were significantly associated with reduced FEV₁. PM2.5 (Lag01-Lag02), PM₁₀ (Lag0-Lag07), NO₂ (Lag0, Lag04), and SO₂ (Lag0) were significantly associated with reduced Forced vital capacity (FVC). PM2.5 (Lag04-Lag07) and NO₂ (Lag01-Lag07) were significantly associated with reduced FEF25%-75%. The results showed the adverse change was stronger after adjusting for other pollutants in the PM models, and women were more susceptible to air pollutants. Therefore, we should pay attention to the problem of air pollution in the elderly, especially in women.

doi.org/10.1080/09603123.2022.2067523Open accessPubMed 35469508Populations