Effects of Air Pollution on Adults with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

• Published in: Archives of environmental health Vol. 57; no. 6; pp. 554 - 560
• Main Authors: Desqueyroux, Hélène, Pujet, Jean-Claude, Prosper, Michel, Le Moullec, Yvon, Momas, Isabelle
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC Taylor & Francis Group 01.11.2002; Heldref
• Subjects: Aged; Air; Air Pollutants - analysis; Air Pollution - analysis; Air Pollution - statistics & numerical data; Biological and medical sciences; Carbon Monoxide - analysis; COPD; Disease Progression; Environmental Monitoring - statistics & numerical data; Environmental pollutants toxicology; Epidemiological Monitoring; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Humidity; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Nitrogen Dioxide - analysis; ozone; Ozone - analysis; panel; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive - classification; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive - epidemiology; Seasons; Sulfur Dioxide - analysis; Temperature; Toxicology; France; Europe; Paris; Ile-de-France; France, Paris; Human; Lung disease; Urban environment; Sensitivity resistance; Respiratory disease; Toxicity; Bronchus disease; Ozone; Air pollution; Obstructive pulmonary disease; Epidemiology; Public health
• ISSN: 0003-9896; 2331-4303
• DOI: 10.1080/00039890209602088

Few studies have been conducted on the effects of air pollution on patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). During a 14-mo period, 39 Parisian adults with severe COPD were monitored by their physicians. Daily levels of 4 air pollutants were provided by an urban air-quality network. Exacerbation of COPD was associated only with ozone (O 3 ) (odds ratio [OR] = 1.44 for a 10-μg/m 3 increase in O 3 ; 95% confidence interval [Cl] = 1.14, 1.82), with a lag of 2-3 days. The effect of O 3 was greater in patients whose carbon dioxide pressure (PaCO 2 ) was higher than 43 mm Hg (OR = 1.83; 95% Cl = 1.36, 2.47) vs. those with a lower PaCO 2 (OR = 1.26; 95% Cl = 0.90, 1.77). The effect of O 3 was unchanged, regardless of the maintenance medications used. The only air pollutant to which patients with severe COPD were particularly sensitive was O 3 .