Telethon Kids Institute, University of Western Australia, Subiaco 6008, Australia.
Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania, Hobart 7000, Australia.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019 Jul 24;16(15):2636. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16152636.
Indigenous children have much higher rates of ear and lung disease than non-Indigenous children, which may be related to exposure to high levels of geogenic (earth-derived) particulate matter (PM). The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between dust levels and health in Indigenous children in Western Australia (W.A.). Data were from a population-based sample of 1077 Indigenous children living in 66 remote communities of W.A. (>2,000,000 km), with information on health outcomes derived from carer reports and hospitalisation records. Associations between dust levels and health outcomes were assessed by multivariate logistic regression in a multi-level framework. We assessed the effect of exposure to community sampled PM on epithelial cell (NuLi-1) responses to non-typeable (NTHi) in vitro. High dust levels were associated with increased odds of hospitalisation for upper (OR 1.77 95% CI [1.02-3.06]) and lower (OR 1.99 95% CI [1.08-3.68]) respiratory tract infections and ear disease (OR 3.06 95% CI [1.20-7.80]). Exposure to PM enhanced NTHi adhesion and invasion of epithelial cells and impaired IL-8 production. Exposure to geogenic PM may be contributing to the poor respiratory health of disadvantaged communities in arid environments where geogenic PM levels are high.
土著儿童患耳部和肺部疾病的比率远高于非土著儿童，这可能与他们接触高水平的地球衍生颗粒物 (PM) 有关。本研究旨在评估西澳大利亚州（WA）土著儿童的灰尘水平与健康之间的关系。数据来自居住在 WA 66 个偏远社区（超过 200 万平方公里）的 1077 名土著儿童的基于人群的样本，健康结果信息来自照顾者报告和住院记录。通过多水平框架中的多变量逻辑回归评估灰尘水平与健康结果之间的关联。我们评估了暴露于社区采集的 PM 对上皮细胞（NuLi-1）对非定型流感嗜血杆菌（NTHi）的体外反应的影响。高灰尘水平与上呼吸道感染（OR 1.77 95%CI [1.02-3.06]）和下呼吸道感染（OR 1.99 95%CI [1.08-3.68]）以及耳部疾病（OR 3.06 95%CI [1.20-7.80]）住院的几率增加有关。暴露于 PM 会增强 NTHi 对上皮细胞的黏附和侵袭，并损害 IL-8 的产生。暴露于地球衍生 PM 可能是导致干旱环境中弱势社区呼吸健康状况不佳的原因，这些地区的地球衍生 PM 水平很高。
