Indoor particulate matter and lung function in children.

People generally spend more time indoors than outdoors resulting in a higher proportion of exposure to particulate matter (PM) occurring indoors. Consequently, indoor PM levels, in contrast to outdoor PM levels, may have a stronger relationship with lung function. To test this hypothesis, indoor and outdoor PM and fungal spore data were simultaneously collected from the homes of forty-four asthmatic children aged 10-16 years. An optical absorption technique was utilized on the collected PM mass to obtain concentrations of black carbon (BC) and ultraviolet light absorbing particulate matter, (UVPM; a marker of light absorbing PM emitted from smoldering organics). Enrolled children completed spirometry after environmental measurements were made. Given the high correlation between PM, BC, and UVPM, principal component analysis was used to obtain uncorrelated summaries of the measured PM. Separate linear mixed-effect models were developed to estimate the association between principal components of the PM variables and spirometry values, as well as the uncorrelated original PM variables and spirometry values. A one-unit increase in the first principal component variable representing indoor PM (predominantly composed of UVPM and PM) was associated with 4.1% decrease (99% CI = -6.9, -1.4) in FEV/FVC ratio. 11.3 μg/m increase in indoor UVPM was associated with 6.4% and 14.7% decrease (99% CI = -10.4, -2.4 and 99% CI = -26.3, -2.9, respectively) in percent predicted FEV/FVC ratio and FEF respectively. Additionally, 17.7 μg/m increase in indoor PM was associated with 6.1% and 12.9% decrease (99% CI = -10.2, -1.9 and 99% CI = -24.9, -1.0, respectively) in percent predicted FEV/FVC ratio and FEF, respectively. Outdoor PM, indoor BC, and indoor fungal spores were not significantly associated with lung function. The results indicate that indoor PM is more strongly associated with lung function in children with asthma as compared with outdoor PM.