Photochemical air pollution: its effects on respiratory function of elementary school children

The effects of photochemical air pollution on respiratory function of Tokyo elementary school children were investigated. Nine types of environmental factors were continuously recorded. Seven categories of respiratory function tests were performed on 20 normal 11-year-old children once a week from June to December 1972, as a general rule. The correlation coefficients between respiratory function measurements and each of the environmental factors were calculated. The maximum expiratory flow rate (V max) showed high correlation with the largest number of environmental factors. Among environmental factors, temperature highly affected various respiratory function tests. The O3 was significantly associated with airway resistance (Raw) or specific airway conductance (Gaw/Vtg), NO or NO2 with V max, and temperature with Raw, Gaw/Vtg, and V max. Two subjects among all subjects were considered as the reactors to the environmental factors.