Pilotto L S, Douglas R M
National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT.
Aust J Public Health. 1992 Sep;16(3):245-50. doi: 10.1111/j.1753-6405.1992.tb00062.x.
Nitrogen dioxide is produced from the combustion of fossil fuels and as an emission from gas-fired appliances, and is also a component of tobacco smoke. Nitrogen dioxide has been shown in experimental animals to be toxic to the respiratory tract. A n number of recent studies have suggested that children exposed to significant levels of nitrogen dioxide in the home may be more susceptible to respiratory illness than children exposed to normal ambient levels. Respiratory illness is a major cause of morbidity in children everywhere. Here, we review the available evidence of this association and explore methodological issues in measurement of nitrogen dioxide exposure--misclassification of subjects, symptom bias and confounding. It has recently been shown that some New South Wales school rooms, where unflued gas heaters are often used as a source of warmth, have nitrogen dioxide levels which are above recommended ambient levels for outside air. This has underlined the need for setting standards for indoor levels of various pollutants, and cohort studies are suggested, to include personal monitoring and prospective data collection techniques.
二氧化氮产生于化石燃料的燃烧以及燃气器具的排放，它也是烟草烟雾的组成成分。实验表明，二氧化氮对实验动物的呼吸道具有毒性。最近的一些研究表明，家中接触大量二氧化氮的儿童可能比接触正常环境水平二氧化氮的儿童更容易患呼吸道疾病。呼吸道疾病是世界各地儿童发病的主要原因。在此，我们回顾了这种关联的现有证据，并探讨了二氧化氮暴露测量中的方法学问题——受试者的错误分类、症状偏差和混杂因素。最近有研究表明，新南威尔士州的一些教室经常使用无烟道燃气加热器取暖，其二氧化氮水平高于室外空气推荐的环境水平。这凸显了为室内各种污染物水平制定标准的必要性，并建议开展队列研究，包括个人监测和前瞻性数据收集技术。
