[Respiratory tract symptoms in school children exposed to indoor and outdoor air pollution].

The epidemiologic study has been carried out in 1129 nine-year old schoolchildren in 4 city areas of Krakow, which differed in air pollution levels. Indoor air quality was assessed by the presence of the environmental tobacco smoke, type of domestic heating and the presence of molds or dampness on the walls. The occurrence of two or more respiratory symptoms (chronic cough, chronic phlegm, wheezing, dyspnea attacks, breathlessness or hay fever) was associated significantly with the outdoor air pollution score (chi 2 for trend = 13.315, df:1, p = .0000), with molds/dampness on the walls (OR = 2.16, 95% CI: 1.45-3.22) and allergy in children (OR = 5.94, 95% CI: 4.12-8.59). Since the results have shown the significant relationship between allergy and outdoor air pollution as well, the study confirms that outdoor pollutants increase the risk of allergic sensitization of young children.