Jagiellonian University Medical College, Kraków, Poland (Faculty of Health Sciences, Institute of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health).
Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2020 Apr 30;33(3):311-324. doi: 10.13075/ijomeh.1896.01527. Epub 2020 Mar 26.
Air pollution has become a critical environmental issue, which severely threatens the well-being of asthma patients. The quality of life of these patients, when exposed to air pollutants such as particulate matter 10 (PM), has been poorly studied. The current research examined the association between the concentration of PM in the air and the quality of life of patients with asthma.
The study group consisted of 300 adult asthma patients treated in 2 allergy outpatient clinics in Kraków, who declared they would not leave the city in the 14-day study period. Daily concentrations of PM from air monitoring stations were recorded over a period of 2 weeks, following which the patients filled out the standardized (AQLQ) regarding the monitored period to assess the total quality of life and its 4 domains (symptoms, limitation of activity, emotional functioning and environmental stimuli).
The average PM exposure was 65.2 μg/m and only 30% of the patients were exposed to values of ≤50 μg/m, i.e., the highest 24-h threshold value considered acceptable by the World Health Organization. The observed effect of an increased level of exposure to airborne PM was associated with reduced scores in AQLQ from 0.40 at the medium level to 0.46 at the high level, in comparison to the low level. The total score of the asthma-related quality of life and its domains showed poorer outcomes as the concentration of PM was increasing (every 0.08 pt per a 10 μg/m increase).
The increase in the concentration of PM in the air impacts on the overall quality of life and its particular domains in people with exceptional predispositions, such as patients with bronchial asthma. Physicians taking care of asthma patients should pay special attention to the quality of patient's life in response to the course and control of that illness, in relation to air pollution. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2020;33(3):311-24.
空气污染已成为一个严重的环境问题，严重威胁着哮喘患者的健康。目前，人们对哮喘患者暴露于空气中的污染物（如 10 微米颗粒物，PM10）后生活质量的研究还很有限。本研究旨在调查空气中 PM10 浓度与哮喘患者生活质量之间的关系。
研究对象为在克拉科夫的 2 家过敏门诊就诊的 300 名成年哮喘患者，这些患者在研究期间（14 天）声明不会离开该市。在两周的时间内，记录了来自空气监测站的每日 PM10 浓度，然后让患者填写标准化问卷（AQLQ），以评估监测期间的总生活质量及其 4 个领域（症状、活动受限、情绪功能和环境刺激）。
平均 PM10 暴露量为 65.2μg/m，只有 30%的患者暴露于≤50μg/m 的浓度，即世界卫生组织认为可接受的最高 24 小时阈值。与低浓度组相比，空气中 PM10 浓度升高与 AQLQ 评分降低相关（中等浓度组为 0.40，高浓度组为 0.46）。与 PM10 浓度升高相关的哮喘相关生活质量的总评分及其各领域评分也较差（每增加 10μg/m，评分降低 0.08 分）。
空气中 PM10 浓度的增加会影响具有特殊易感性人群（如支气管哮喘患者）的整体生活质量及其特定领域。照顾哮喘患者的医生应特别注意患者生活质量，以应对疾病的发生和控制，特别是与空气污染相关的问题。国际职业医学与环境卫生杂志。2020;33(3):311-24.
