Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Mol, BELGIUM.
Transportation Research Institute (IMOB), Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, BELGIUM.
Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2018 Sep;50(9):1875-1881. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000001632.
When physical activity is promoted in urban outdoor settings (e.g., walking and cycling), individuals are also exposed to air pollution. It has been reported that short-term lung function increases as a response to physical activity, but this beneficial effect is hampered when elevated air pollution concentrations are observed. Our study assessed the long-term impact of air pollution on the pulmonary health benefit of physical activity.
Wearable sensors were used to monitor physical activity levels (SenseWear) and exposure to black carbon (microAeth) of 115 healthy adults during 1 wk in three European cities (Antwerp, Barcelona, London). The experiment was repeated in three different seasons to approximate long-term behavior. Spirometry tests were performed at the beginning and end of each measurement week. All results were averaged on a participant level as a proxy for long-term lung function. Mixed effect regression models were used to analyze the long-term impact of physical activity, black carbon and their interaction on lung function parameters, forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), FEV1/FVC, forced expiratory flow (FEF)25-75, and peak expiratory flow. Interaction plots were used to interpret the significant interaction effects.
Negative interaction effects of physical activity and black carbon exposure on FEV1 (P = 0.07), FEV1/FVC (P = 0.03), and FEF25-75 (P = 0.03) were observed. For black carbon concentrations up to approximately 1 μg·m, an additional MET·h·wk resulted in a trend toward lung function increases (FEV1, FEV1/FVC, and FEF25-75 increased 5.6 mL, 0.1% and 14.5 mL·s, respectively).
We found that lung function improved with physical activity at low black carbon levels. This beneficial effect decreased in higher air pollution concentrations. Our results suggest a greater need to reduce air pollution exposures during physical activity.
当在城市户外环境中（例如步行和骑自行车）促进身体活动时，个体也会接触到空气污染。据报道，身体活动会短期增加肺功能，但当观察到空气污染浓度升高时，这种有益的影响会受到阻碍。我们的研究评估了空气污染对身体活动的肺部健康益处的长期影响。
使用可穿戴传感器（SenseWear）监测 115 名健康成年人在安特卫普、巴塞罗那和伦敦三个欧洲城市的一周内的身体活动水平和黑碳暴露情况（microAeth）。实验在三个不同的季节重复进行，以近似长期行为。在每次测量周的开始和结束时进行肺活量测试。所有结果均在参与者水平上平均，以代表长期肺功能。使用混合效应回归模型分析身体活动、黑碳及其相互作用对肺功能参数（第一秒用力呼气量（FEV1）、用力肺活量（FVC）、FEV1/FVC、呼气流量 25-75（FEF25-75）和呼气峰流速）的长期影响。使用交互作用图来解释显著的交互作用效应。
观察到身体活动和黑碳暴露对 FEV1（P = 0.07）、FEV1/FVC（P = 0.03）和 FEF25-75（P = 0.03）的负交互作用效应。对于黑碳浓度约为 1μg·m，每增加 1 个 MET·h·wk，肺功能呈增加趋势（FEV1、FEV1/FVC 和 FEF25-75 分别增加 5.6 mL、0.1%和 14.5 mL·s）。
我们发现，在低黑碳水平下，身体活动会使肺功能改善。在较高的空气污染浓度下，这种有益的影响会降低。我们的研究结果表明，在进行身体活动时，需要更大程度地减少空气污染暴露。
