Department of Environmental Engineering, Institute of Technology and Exact Sciences, Federal University of Triângulo Mineiro, Uberaba, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Postgraduate Program in Environmental Science and Technology, Federal University of Triângulo Mineiro, Uberaba, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Environ Monit Assess. 2020 Feb 13;192(3):175. doi: 10.1007/s10661-020-8142-4.
This study aimed to assess the air quality, the prevalence of child respiratory morbidity, and the association between them, in urban areas where concentrations of pollutants are expected to be below national limits. The monitoring of PM NO and O was performed in five schools, during 9 months. Information about respiratory diseases and associated symptoms were collected from each student using a questionnaire based on the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood. The PM and NO concentrations were higher at points closer to roads and avenues with intense vehicle flow and lower at the point closer to a park, with dense vegetation. All sampling points exceeded the annual limit established by WHO for PM. Some maximum PM concentrations recorded close to the road was six times higher than the international limit. In total, 340 answered questionnaires were collected (68% response rate). Respiratory symptoms such as wheezing, sneezing, running nose, tearing, and itchy eyes had positive and strong correlation to the primary pollutants (0.70 to 0.87), but the frequency of some symptoms was lower close to the urban forest. Therefore, our results confirm the importance of creating and maintaining green areas in urban space, considering all ecosystem services provided by them, especially the improvement of air quality. In addition, a continuous program to monitor and control atmospheric pollution is required in mid-sized counties located nearby important roads, with growing fleets of vehicles.
本研究旨在评估城市地区的空气质量、儿童呼吸道疾病的患病率以及它们之间的关联，因为这些地区的污染物浓度预计低于国家限值。在五个学校进行了 PMNO 和 O 的监测，监测时间为 9 个月。使用基于儿童哮喘和过敏国际研究的问卷，从每个学生那里收集有关呼吸道疾病和相关症状的信息。PM 和 NO 浓度在靠近交通繁忙的道路和大道的地点较高，而在靠近植被茂密的公园的地点较低。所有采样点都超过了世界卫生组织为 PM 设定的年限制。一些靠近道路的最高 PM 浓度记录比国际限值高六倍。总共收集了 340 份回答问卷（应答率为 68%）。喘息、打喷嚏、流鼻涕、流泪和眼睛发痒等呼吸道症状与主要污染物呈正相关且相关性很强（0.70 至 0.87），但靠近城市森林的某些症状频率较低。因此，我们的结果证实了在城市空间中创建和维护绿色区域的重要性，考虑到它们提供的所有生态系统服务，尤其是改善空气质量。此外，在靠近重要道路且车辆数量不断增加的中型县城，需要实施一个持续的监测和控制大气污染的计划。
