| The Influence of Large-Scale Airborne Particle Decline and Traffic-Related Exposure on Children's Lung Function Dorothea Sugiri, Ulrich Ranft, Tamara Schikowski, and Ursula Krämer Institut für umweltmedizinische Forschung an der Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany Abstract
Between 1991 and 2000, ambient air pollution in East Germany changed to resemble West German pollution levels: The concentration of total suspended particles (TSPs) decreased on a broad scale while traffic increased. During that time, we analyzed total lung capacity (TLC) and airway resistance (Raw) of East and West German children. We tested children 5-7 years of age (n = 2,574) with cooperation-independent body plethysmography in repeated cross sections. We used random-effect models to determine the mutually adjusted association between lung function and short-term and chronic particle exposure and its interaction with living near a busy road. Annual averages of TSPs declined from 77 to 44 µg/m3 ; averages on the day of investigation declined from 133 to 30 µg/m3. Differences in lung function between East and West German children vanished during the investigation time. The association of TSPs with Raw and TLC was stronger in children living > 50 m away from busy roads. East German children from this group had an Raw 2.5% higher [95% confidence interval (CI) , 0.0-5.1%] per 40-µg/m3 increase of daily TSP averages. TLC decreased by 6.2% (95% CI, 0.04-11.6%) per 40-µg/m3 increase in annual mean TSPs, and this effect was equally pronounced in East and West Germany. TSP exposure decreased on a broad scale between 1991 and 2000. Lower concentrations of TSPs were associated with better measures of lung function in 6-year-old children. For children living near busy roads, this effect was diminished. Key words: air pollution, children, German reunification, lung function, particulate matter, repeated cross sections, traffic. Environ Health Perspect 114:282-288 (2006) . doi:10.1289/ehp.8180 available via http://dx.doi.org/ [Online 20 September 2005]
Address correspondence to D. Sugiri, Institut für umweltmedizinische Forschung an der Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany. Telephone: 49-211-3389-299. Fax: 49-211-3389-283. E-mail: sugiri@uni-duesseldorf.de We thank M.S. Islam and his team for their excellent body plethymographic measurements: E. Müller, S. Wolczyk, V. Jaeger, and G. Seitner-Sorge. We thank the local health departments in Borken, Cologne, Duisburg, Essen, Halle, Leipzig, Magdeburg, Osterburg, and Salzwedel for their assistance and permission to couple our investigations with the official school entrance examinations. Thanks also to H. Willer and H. Oppermann, who enabled the fieldwork in East Germany, and R. Dolgner, who organized the study in West Germany. We also thank J. Edmonds (Environmental Health Officer in Stonnington, Victoria, Australia) . The study was partly financed by the Ministry of the Environment of North-Rhine Westphalia and the Ministry of Social Affairs in Sachsen-Anhalt. The authors declare they have no competing financial interests. Received 6 April 2005 ; accepted 19 September 2005.
The full version of this article is available for free in HTML or PDF formats. |
