Indoor air pollution and its effect on pulmonary function of adult non-smoking women: II. Associations between nitrogen dioxide and pulmonary function.

The association between nitrogen dioxide levels in homes and pulmonary function of 97 non-smoking adult women was investigated in a rural area in the Netherlands. The study population was a sub-sample of a longitudinal field study on chronic non-specific lung diseases which was started in 1965. Pulmonary function tests were performed at three-yearly intervals. NO2 was measured for one week in the winter in kitchen, living room and bedroom of each home. Cross-sectional analyses showed negative associations between NO2 exposure and several pulmonary function parameters as measured in the 1982 study. No significant association could be found between NO2 exposure and pulmonary function decline since the start of the study.