PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Martin Adam AU - Tamara Schikowski AU - Anne Elie Carsin AU - Yutong Cai AU - Benedicte Jacquemin AU - Margaux Sanchez AU - Andrea Vierkötter AU - Alessandro Marcon AU - Dirk Keidel AU - Dorothee Sugiri AU - Zaina Al Kanani AU - Rachel Nadif AU - Valérie Siroux AU - Rebecca Hardy AU - Diana Kuh AU - Thierry Rochat AU - Pierre-Olivier Bridevaux AU - Marloes Eeftens AU - Ming-Yi Tsai AU - Simona Villani AU - Harish Chandra Phuleria AU - Matthias Birk AU - Josef Cyrys AU - Marta Cirach AU - Audrey de Nazelle AU - Mark J. Nieuwenhuijsen AU - Bertil Forsberg AU - Kees de Hoogh AU - Christophe Declerq AU - Roberto Bono AU - Pavilio Piccioni AU - Ulrich Quass AU - Joachim Heinrich AU - Deborah Jarvis AU - Isabelle Pin AU - Rob Beelen AU - Gerard Hoek AU - Bert Brunekreef AU - Christian Schindler AU - Jordi Sunyer AU - Ursula Krämer AU - Francine Kauffmann AU - Anna L. Hansell AU - Nino Künzli AU - Nicole Probst-Hensch TI - Adult lung function and long-term air pollution exposure. ESCAPE: a multicentre cohort study and meta-analysis AID - 10.1183/09031936.00130014 DP - 2014 Jan 01 TA - European Respiratory Journal PG - erj01300-2014 4099 - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/early/2014/09/16/09031936.00130014.short 4100 - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/early/2014/09/16/09031936.00130014.full AB - The chronic impact of ambient air pollutants on lung function in adults is not fully understood. The objective of this study was to investigate the association of long-term exposure to ambient air pollution with lung function in adult participants from five cohorts in the European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects (ESCAPE). Residential exposure to nitrogen oxides (NO2, NOx) and particulate matter (PM) was modelled and traffic indicators were assessed in a standardised manner. The spirometric parameters forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC) from 7613 subjects were considered as outcomes. Cohort-specific results were combined using meta-analysis. We did not observe an association of air pollution with longitudinal change in lung function, but we observed that a 10 μg·m−3 increase in NO2 exposure was associated with lower levels of FEV1 (−14.0 mL, 95%CI −25.8– −2.1) and FVC (−14.9 mL, 95% CI −28.7– −1.1). An increase of 10 μg·m−3 in PM10, but not other PM metrics (PM2.5, coarse fraction of PM, PM absorbance), was associated with a lower level of FEV1 (−44.6 mL, 95% CI −85.4– −3.8) and FVC (−59.0 mL, 95% CI −112.3– −5.6). The associations were particularly strong in obese persons. This study adds to the evidence for an adverse association of ambient air pollution with lung function in adults at very low levels in Europe. The ESCAPE study finds that, even at very low levels, air pollution has adverse effects on lung function in adults http://ow.ly/A1ssB