Forsberg B, Stjernberg N, Linné R, Segerstedt B, Wall S
Dept of Environmental Health, Umeå University, Sweden.
Eur Respir J. 1998 Oct;12(4):900-5. doi: 10.1183/09031936.98.12040900.
This study aimed to investigate the association between daily air pollution levels and the occurrence of acute respiratory signs and symptoms among people with asthma or asthma-like problems. Thirty eight subjects in the southern Swedish city of Landskrona kept a daily diary for 10 weeks. The daily prevalence of symptoms, supplementary bronchodilator use and peak flow deviations were compared with measurements of environmental nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulphur dioxide, temperature and humidity in the city. The occurrence of severe asthma, both during the day and during the evening, was significantly positively associated with the concurrent 24 h average concentration of NO2, which never exceeded 72 microg x m(-3). A correlation of borderline significance was found between the use of on-demand medication and the NO2 level. However, peak flow deviations were not associated with air pollution or weather conditions, which may be explained by the beneficial effect of bronchodilators used by 28 of the subjects. The results of this study confirm those of some earlier studies and suggest that aggravation of asthma is related to daily variations in air quality, as indicated by relatively low ambient concentrations of nitrogen dioxide. These results also indicate that it may be appropriate to examine severe asthma symptoms separately.
本研究旨在调查日常空气污染水平与哮喘或类似哮喘问题患者急性呼吸道症状发生之间的关联。瑞典南部城市兰茨克鲁纳的38名受试者连续10周记录每日日记。将症状的每日患病率、辅助支气管扩张剂的使用情况和峰值流量偏差与该市环境二氧化氮（NO2）、二氧化硫、温度和湿度的测量值进行比较。白天和晚上严重哮喘的发生与同时期24小时平均NO2浓度显著正相关，该浓度从未超过72微克×立方米（-3）。按需用药与NO2水平之间发现了边缘显著性的相关性。然而，峰值流量偏差与空气污染或天气状况无关，这可能是由于28名受试者使用支气管扩张剂产生了有益效果。本研究结果证实了一些早期研究的结果，并表明哮喘加重与空气质量的每日变化有关，如二氧化氮相对较低的环境浓度所示。这些结果还表明，单独检查严重哮喘症状可能是合适的。
