Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Sep 9;19(18):11385.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph191811385.

The Effects of Short-Term PM2.5 Exposure on Pulmonary Function among Children with Asthma-A Panel Study in Shanghai, China

Ji Zhou  1   2   3 , Ruoyi Lei  4 , Jianming Xu  2   3 , Li Peng  2   3 , Xiaofang Ye  2   3 , Dandan Yang  2   3 , Sixu Yang  2   3 , Yong Yin  5 , Renhe Zhang  1
Affiliations

The Effects of Short-Term PM2.5 Exposure on Pulmonary Function among Children with Asthma-A Panel Study in Shanghai, China

Ji Zhou et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) has been reported to be an important risk factor for asthma. This study was designed to evaluate the relationship between PM2.5 and lung function among children with asthma in Shanghai, China. From 2016 to 2019, a total of 70 Chinese children aged 4 to 14 in Shanghai were recruited for this panel study. The questionnaire was used to collect baseline information, and the lung function covering forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) and peak expiratory flow (PEF) were carried out for each child more than twice during follow-up. Meanwhile, the simultaneous daily air atmospheric pollutants and meteorological data were collected. The linear mixed effect (LME) model was used to assess the relationship between air pollutants and lung function. A significantly negative association was found between PM2.5 and lung function in children with asthma. In the single-pollutant model, the largest effects of PM2.5 on lung function were found for lag 0-2, with FVC and FEV1 decreasing by 0.91% [95% confidence interval (CI): -1.75, -0.07] and 1.05% (95% CI: -2.09, 0.00), respectively, for each 10 μg/m3 increase in PM2.5. In the multi-pollution model (adjusted PM2.5 + SO2 + O3), the maximum effects of PM2.5 on FVC and FEV1 also appeared for lag 0-2, with FVC and FEV1 decreasing by 1.57% (95% CI: -2.69, -0.44) and 1.67% (95% CI: -3.05, -0.26), respectively, for each 10 μg/m3 increase in PM2.5. In the subgroup analysis, boys, preschoolers (<6 years old) and hot seasons (May to September) were more sensitive to changes. Our findings may contribute to a better understanding of the short-term exposure effects of PM2.5 on lung function in children with asthma.

Keywords: PM2.5; asthma; children; panel study; pulmonary function.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The selection of the participants in this study.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Location of environmental monitoring station and Shanghai Children’s Medical Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in Shanghai.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Association between lung function and air pollutants in single- or multi-pollution models. Estimates are adjusted for questionnaire information, relative humidity, temperature, age, BMI, sex, holiday, day of week and times of the measurement. PM2.5, fine particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 μm; O3, ozone; SO2, sulfur dioxide; FVC, forced vital capacity; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 s; PEF, peak expiratory flow.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Association between lung function and PM2.5 in gender-stratified multi-pollution model (adjusted PM2.5 + SO2 + O3). Estimates are adjusted for questionnaire information, relative humidity, temperature, age, BMI, holiday, day of week and times of the measurement. FVC, forced vital capacity; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 s; PEF, peak expiratory flow.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Association between lung function and PM2.5 in age-stratified multi-pollution model (adjusted PM2.5 + SO2 + O3). Preschool children: age < 6 years old; school-age children: age ≥ 6 years old. Estimates are adjusted for questionnaire information, relative humidity, temperature, BMI, sex, holiday, day of week and times of the measurement. FVC, forced vital capacity; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 s; PEF, peak expiratory flow.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Association between lung function and PM2.5 in a season-stratified multi-pollution model (adjusted PM2.5 + SO2 + O3). Cold season refers to the period of November to March, and hot season means May to September [20]. Estimates are adjusted for questionnaire information, relative humidity, temperature, age, BMI, sex, holiday, day of week and times of the measurement. FVC, forced vital capacity; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 s; PEF, peak expiratory flow.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Maddox L., Schwartz D.A. The pathophysiology of asthma. Annu. Rev. Med. 2002;53:477–498. doi: 10.1146/annurev.med.53.082901.103921. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Holst G.J., Pedersen C.B., Thygesen M., Brandt J., Geels C., Bonlokke J.H., Sigsgaard T. Air pollution and family related determinants of asthma onset and persistent wheezing in children: Nationwide case-control study. BMJ. 2020;370:m2791. doi: 10.1136/bmj.m2791. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. García-Marcos L., Asher M.I., Pearce N., Ellwood E., Bissell K., Chiang C.-Y., El Sony A., Ellwood P., Marks G.B., Mortimer K., et al. The burden of asthma, hay fever and eczema in children in 25 countries: GAN phase I study. Eur. Respir. J. 2022;60:2102866. doi: 10.1183/13993003.02866-2021. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Vos T., Abajobir A.A., Abate K.H., Abbafati C., Abbas K.M., Abd-Allah F., Abdulkader R.S., Abdulle A.M., Abebo T.A., Abera S.F., et al. Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 328 diseases and injuries for 195 countries, 1990–2016: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016. Lancet. 2017;390:1211–1259. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)32154-2. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Meghji J., Mortimer K., Agusti A., Allwood B.W., Asher I., Bateman E.D., Bissell K., Bolton C.E., Bush A., Celli B., et al. Improving lung health in low-income and middle-income countries: From challenges to solutions. Lancet. 2021;397:928–940. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00458-X. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources