Gupta Parul, Singh Sheetu, Kumar Sudhir, Choudhary Mahender, Singh Virendra
Civil Engineering Department, Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India.
J Asthma. 2012 Mar;49(2):134-8. doi: 10.3109/02770903.2011.645180. Epub 2012 Jan 3.
Sandstorms frequently cause adverse health effects especially in patients with asthma. The aim of our research was to explore the mechanism of sandstorm-induced asthmatic exacerbation by administering dust aerosol through an environmentally controlled exposure chamber.
Four samples of soil (Ganganagar clay, Bikaner sand, Jaipur sand, and Ganganagar sand) were collected from three sandstorm-prone areas of Rajasthan, the desert state of India. Twenty patients with asthma, who had stable disease with a forced expiratory volume in first second (FEV(1)) more than 70% of predicted, volunteered to participate in this randomized single-blind placebo-controlled crossover study. The four samples of dust and placebo were administered randomly on 5 study days. FEV(1) was measured for the next 60 minutes and the maximal decline in FEV(1) (ΔFEV(1)) from baseline was measured. The samples of dust were also analyzed for particle size and adhesiveness.
The maximal decline in FEV(1) was observed 15 minutes post-exposure with all dust samples. Mean ΔFEV(1) was 0.69 ± 0.08 liters for Ganganagar clay, 0.52 ± 0.06 liters for Bikaner sand, 0.39 ± 0.07 liters for Jaipur sand, and 0.32 ± 0.04 liters for Ganganagar sand dust aerosol samples. Decline in FEV(1) correlated with volume of dust particles with size <10 μm (PM(10)) and adhesiveness of the dust particles.
Smaller-size sandstorm dust particles with higher adhesive properties have a greater potential of aggravating asthma.
沙尘暴经常对健康产生不利影响，尤其是对哮喘患者。我们研究的目的是通过在环境控制的暴露舱中给予沙尘气溶胶，探索沙尘暴诱发哮喘加重的机制。
从印度沙漠邦拉贾斯坦邦三个易发生沙尘暴的地区采集了四种土壤样本（甘加纳加尔粘土、比卡内尔沙子、斋浦尔沙子和甘加纳加尔沙子）。20名哮喘患者自愿参加这项随机单盲安慰剂对照交叉研究，这些患者病情稳定，第一秒用力呼气量（FEV(1)）超过预测值的70%。在5个研究日随机给予四种沙尘样本和安慰剂。在接下来的60分钟内测量FEV(1)，并测量FEV(1)相对于基线的最大下降值（ΔFEV(1)）。还对沙尘样本进行了粒径和粘性分析。
所有沙尘样本在暴露后15分钟观察到FEV(1)的最大下降。甘加纳加尔粘土的平均ΔFEV(1)为0.69±0.08升，比卡内尔沙子为0.52±0.06升，斋浦尔沙子为0.39±0.07升，甘加纳加尔沙子沙尘气溶胶样本为0.32±0.04升。FEV(1)的下降与粒径<10μm的沙尘颗粒体积（PM(10)）和沙尘颗粒的粘性相关。
具有较高粘性的较小粒径沙尘暴沙尘颗粒具有更大的加重哮喘的潜力。
