Air pollution, lung function and COPD: results from the population-based UK Biobank study
Dany Doiron1,2,3, Kees de Hoogh2,3, Nicole Probst-Hensch2,3
1Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, QC, Canada dany.doiron@mail.mcgill.ca.
The European Respiratory Journal
|July 10, 2019
Summary
Ambient air pollution, including fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), is linked to reduced lung function and increased chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) risk. Vulnerability factors like sex, income, and occupation modify these effects.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Respiratory Medicine
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Ambient air pollution is a known risk factor for respiratory mortality.
- Evidence linking air pollution to lung function decline and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the association between ambient air pollution and lung function.
- To determine the relationship between air pollution and COPD prevalence.
- To explore factors that may increase vulnerability to air pollution's respiratory effects.
Main Methods:
- Utilized UK Biobank data from 303,887 adults aged 40-69.
- Conducted cross-sectional analyses of land use regression-based air pollutant concentrations (PM2.5, PM10, PMcoarse, NO2).
- Examined associations with lung function measures (FEV1, FVC, FEV1/FVC ratio) and COPD diagnosis, investigating effect modification by sex, age, obesity, smoking, income, asthma, and occupation.
Main Results:
- Higher exposure to PM2.5, PM10, and NO2 was significantly associated with lower lung function (FEV1, FVC).
- Increased prevalence of COPD was linked to higher concentrations of PM2.5, PM10, and NO2.
- Stronger associations were observed in males, lower-income individuals, and those in "at-risk" occupations; obesity and non-asthmatic status also showed higher COPD risk.
Conclusions:
- Ambient air pollution is associated with reduced lung function and increased COPD prevalence.
- Specific pollutants like PM2.5 and NO2 pose significant risks to respiratory health.
- Individual characteristics and socioeconomic factors influence susceptibility to air pollution-related respiratory diseases.
More Related Videos
09:33Visualizing Field Data Collection Procedures of Exposure and Biomarker Assessments for the Household Air Pollution Intervention Network Trial in India
Published on: December 23, 2022
2.7K
04:00Author Spotlight: Assessing the Olfactory Effects of Airborne Pollutants — Buried Food and Social Odor Tests
Published on: September 13, 2024
1.3K
Related Concept Videos
01:47Lung Capacity
56.2K
The air in the lungs is measured in volumes and capacities. Lung volume measures reflect the amount of air taken in, released, or left over after a lung function, like a single inhalation. Lung capacity measures are sums of two or more lung volume measures.
56.2K
01:20COPD: Pathogenesis and Clinical Features
1.8K
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a group of lung conditions that progressively worsen over time, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. This cluster of diseases collectively leads to a gradual and irreversible decline in lung function over time.
The primary cause for the onset of COPD is cigarette smoking and exposure to air pollution. These hazardous factors initiate a chain reaction within the lungs, resulting in chronic inflammation, damage to the airways, and a...
The primary cause for the onset of COPD is cigarette smoking and exposure to air pollution. These hazardous factors initiate a chain reaction within the lungs, resulting in chronic inflammation, damage to the airways, and a...
1.8K
01:26COPD: Management Using Bronchodilators and Corticosteroids
752
Chronic obstructive pulmonary isease (COPD) involves a group of progressive lung disorders characterized by persistent airflow limitation and chronic respiratory symptoms. Asthma-COPD Overlap Syndrome (ACOS), encompassing features of both asthma and Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), is a group of progressive lung disorders that includes chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and refractory (non-reversible) asthma. ACOS leads to complex clinical presentations that combine the inflammatory...
752
01:25What is Population Genetics?
64.5K
A population is composed of members of the same species that simultaneously live and interact in the same area. When individuals in a population breed, they pass down their genes to their offspring. Many of these genes are polymorphic, meaning that they occur in multiple variants. Such variations of a gene are referred to as alleles. The collective set of all the alleles within a population is known as the gene pool.
64.5K
02:04Conservation of Small Populations
16.7K
Small population sizes put a species at extreme risk of extinction due to a lack of variation, and a consequent decrease in adaptability. This weakens the chances of survival under pressures such as climate change, competition from other species, or new diseases. Large populations are more likely to survive pressures such as these, as such populations are more likely to harbor individuals that have genetic variants that are adaptive under new stresses. Small populations are much less...
16.7K
00:57Population Growth
28.0K
Population size is dynamic, increasing with birth rates and immigration, and decreasing with death rates and emigration. In ideal conditions with unlimited resources, populations can increase exponentially, which plots as a J-shaped growth rate curve of population size against time. This type of curve is characteristic of newly-introduced invasive species, or populations that have suffered catastrophic declines and are rebounding.
28.0K