Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.
Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2010 Mar;42(3):585-91. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e3181b84a85.
Before the 2008 Olympic Games, there was concern that air pollution in Beijing would affect the performance of marathon runners. Air pollutant concentrations during marathon running and their effect on performance have not been reported. Evidence suggests that the lung function of females may be more susceptible than that of males to air pollution, but it is uncertain if this translates to decreased marathon performance.
The purposes of this study were to 1) describe ambient air pollutant concentrations present during major US marathons, 2) quantify performance decrements associated with air pollutants, and 3) examine potential sex difference in performance related to air pollutants.
Marathon race results, weather data, and air pollutant concentrations were obtained for seven marathons for 8-28 yr. The top three male and female finishing times were compared with the course record and contrasted with air pollutant levels and wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT). A WBGT-adjusted performance decrement was calculated, and regression analysis was used to quantify performance decrements associated with pollutants.
The air pollutant concentrations of carbon monoxide, ozone, particulate matter smaller than 10 microm (PM(10)), PM(2.5), nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide ranged from 0 to 5.9 ppm, from 0 to 0.07 ppm, from 4.5 to 41.0 microg x m(-3), from 2.8 to 42.0 microg x m(-3), from 0 to 0.06 ppm, and from 0 to 0.05 ppm, respectively. After adjusting for WBGT-associated performance decrements, only PM(10) was associated with decrements in performance of women. For every 10-microg x m(-3) increase in PM(10), performance can be expected to decrease by 1.4%.
The concentrations of air pollution present during marathons rarely exceed health-based national standards and levels known to affect lung function in laboratory situations. Regardless, PM(10) was significantly correlated with performance of women marathon runners.
本研究的目的是 1）描述美国主要马拉松比赛期间存在的环境空气污染物浓度，2）量化与空气污染物相关的运动表现下降情况，以及 3）检查与空气污染物相关的运动表现的潜在性别差异。
获得了七个马拉松比赛的比赛结果、天气数据和空气污染物浓度，时间范围为 8 到 28 年。前三名男性和女性的完赛时间与赛道记录进行了比较，并与空气污染物水平和湿球黑球温度（WBGT）进行了对比。计算了经过 WBGT 调整的运动表现下降值，并采用回归分析量化了与污染物相关的运动表现下降值。
一氧化碳、臭氧、小于 10 微米（PM10）、PM2.5、二氧化氮和二氧化硫的空气污染物浓度范围分别为 0 到 5.9ppm、0 到 0.07ppm、4.5 到 41.0μg/m3、2.8 到 42.0μg/m3、0 到 0.06ppm 和 0 到 0.05ppm。在对与 WBGT 相关的运动表现下降值进行调整后，只有 PM10 与女性运动表现下降相关。PM10 每增加 10μg/m3，运动表现预计会下降 1.4%。
马拉松比赛期间存在的空气污染浓度很少超过基于健康的国家标准和已知会影响实验室情况下肺功能的水平。尽管如此，PM10 与女性马拉松运动员的运动表现显著相关。
