Evaluation of respiratory symptoms and lung function in adolescents living in a ceramic industrial park zone

Abstract

Rationale: Recently, PM₁₀ levels in Santa Gertrudes (SG) has topped the ranking of monitored cities in Brazil; Rio Claro (RC), a neighbor city, has been at top five. Both are located in a ceramic industrial park and its activities are linked to high levels of silica-rich PM₁₀.

Objectives: To evaluate respiratory symptoms and lung function of adolescents living in cities with different levels of air pollution. Our main question is if growing up in cities with high levels of silica-rich PM₁₀ affects pulmonary function.

Study Design: We recruited children living at SG, RC and São Pedro (SP) (a control city). Inclusion criteria: 16 to 18 years of age, living for the past 10 years at the same city. Students were submitted to respiratory symptoms questionnaires and spirometry. SG and RC have stationary, environmental PM₁₀ monitoring for the past 10 years. We collected PM_2.5 data with a portable monitor in SP.

Results: We evaluated 158 children in SG, 154 in RC and 136 in SP. Mean CVF% and FEV₁% were significantly different among the three groups - CVF%: 104.4±14.0%, 110.3±14.7% and 114.7±16.3% (p<0.01); FEV₁%: 98.5±11.5%, 103.3±12.9% and 108.3±13,3% (p<0.01) in SG, RC and SP, respectively. Prevalence of children with CVF% below 90% was higher in SG (p=0.02). Prevalence of rhinitis and asthma symptoms did not differ.

Discussion: Our findings provide evidence of the negative effects of air pollution on lung function; it was uncertain if silica-rich PM₁₀ had effects similar to traffic-related air pollution. Its impacts on clinically meaningful health endpoints were nonsignificant in this sample, but this study is far from conclusive, thus needing further research.