Ciencewicki Jonathan, Jaspers Ilona
Curriculum of Toxicology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
Inhal Toxicol. 2007 Nov;19(14):1135-46. doi: 10.1080/08958370701665434.
Despite current regulations, which limit the levels of certain air pollutants, there are still a number of adverse health effects that result from exposure to these agents. Numerous epidemiological studies have noted an association between the levels of air pollution and hospital admissions for a variety of different health reasons, including a number of respiratory diseases, as well as increased morbidity and mortality associated with various respiratory conditions and diseases. Because of the large impact respiratory virus infections have on morbidity and even mortality, it is important to understand whether and how exposure to common air pollutants could exacerbate the susceptibility to and severity of respiratory virus infections. This review focuses on current epidemiological and experimental studies, which have examined the association between and effect of air pollutants and respiratory viral infections, as well as potential mechanisms associated with these effects. Examined in this review are U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) "criteria" pollutants nitrogen dioxide (NO(2)), ozone (O(3)), and particulate matter (PM), as well as indoor pollutants such as environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and combustion products of biomass fuels. Although a number of studies indicate associations between exposure to air pollutants and increased risk for respiratory virus infections, potential mechanisms mediating these effects are largely unexplored. Therefore, additional studies, both epidemiologic and mechanistic, are necessary to increase our understanding of how exposure to air pollutants could affect respiratory virus infections, especially in populations already at risk of developing significant morbidity/mortality after infections with respiratory viruses.
尽管目前的法规限制了某些空气污染物的水平，但接触这些污染物仍会导致许多不良健康影响。大量流行病学研究指出，空气污染水平与因各种不同健康原因（包括多种呼吸道疾病）而住院之间存在关联，以及与各种呼吸道疾病相关的发病率和死亡率增加。由于呼吸道病毒感染对发病率甚至死亡率有很大影响，因此了解接触常见空气污染物是否以及如何会加剧对呼吸道病毒感染的易感性和严重程度很重要。本综述重点关注当前的流行病学和实验研究，这些研究考察了空气污染物与呼吸道病毒感染之间的关联和影响，以及与这些影响相关的潜在机制。本综述所考察的是美国环境保护局（EPA）的“标准”污染物二氧化氮（NO₂）、臭氧（O₃）和颗粒物（PM），以及室内污染物，如环境烟草烟雾（ETS）和生物质燃料的燃烧产物。尽管许多研究表明接触空气污染物与呼吸道病毒感染风险增加之间存在关联，但介导这些影响的潜在机制在很大程度上尚未得到探索。因此，需要进行更多的流行病学和机制研究，以增进我们对接触空气污染物如何影响呼吸道病毒感染的理解，特别是在那些感染呼吸道病毒后已有显著发病/死亡风险的人群中。
