LEPAE, Departamento de Engenharia Química, Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto, Rua Dr, Roberto Frias, 4200-465, Porto, Portugal.
BMC Public Health. 2012 Jun 13;12:435. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-12-435.
Several studies have demonstrated an association between the exposure to indoor air pollution (IAP) and childhood asthma. Evidence is suggesting that several air pollutants may contribute to both exacerbation and development of asthma, but some uncertainty remains concerning the specific causative role of IAP. This paper reports an epidemiologic study aiming to reduce the existing lacks on the association between long-term exposure to pollution mixtures and the development and exacerbation of childhood asthma.
METHODS/DESIGN: Based on the implementation of the study in 8 nurseries and 8 primary schools, from which, 2 nurseries and 2 primary schools in sites influenced by traffic and other 2 nurseries and 2 primary schools in background sites at urban and rural areas, the study will analyse the exposure to both urban and rural pollution as well as to traffic emissions (some homes of the children will be included in the study). Furthermore, based on the answers to validated questionnaires (as those used in the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood - ISAAC) filled in by the parents and on medical exams, the study will assess the prevalence, incidence and exacerbation of asthma, thus considering both short and long-term effects. The approximate number of children in the study will never be less than 600, guaranteeing 80% of study power (significant at a 5% level).
This study intends to contribute for the understanding of the role of environmental factors, namely indoor air pollution, on asthma considering a risk group of different ages, and for the development of preventive measures, which are considered priority issues by the European Commission, according to the European Environmental Agency and the World Health Organization.
多项研究表明，室内空气污染（IAP）与儿童哮喘之间存在关联。有证据表明，多种空气污染物可能会加剧和导致哮喘，但关于 IAP 的具体致病作用仍存在一些不确定性。本文报告了一项旨在减少长期暴露于污染混合物与儿童哮喘发展和恶化之间关联的现有研究中的不足之处的流行病学研究。
方法/设计：基于在 8 所幼儿园和 8 所小学实施的研究，其中交通影响区和农村背景区各有 2 所幼儿园和 2 所小学，研究将分析城市和农村污染以及交通排放的暴露情况（一些儿童的家庭将包括在研究中）。此外，根据家长填写的经过验证的问卷（如儿童国际哮喘和过敏研究 - ISAAC 中使用的问卷）的答案以及体检，研究将评估哮喘的患病率、发病率和恶化情况，从而考虑短期和长期影响。研究中的儿童人数将永远不少于 600 人，保证 80%的研究能力（在 5%的水平上有意义）。
这项研究旨在了解环境因素（包括室内空气污染）在考虑不同年龄段的风险群体时对哮喘的作用，并制定预防措施，根据欧洲环境署和世界卫生组织的说法，这些措施被欧盟委员会视为优先事项。
