Cross-sectional health study in polluted and nonpolluted agricultural settlements in Israel

During the summer of 1984 a health survey was carried out among the population of six rural settlements, three in a polluted and three in a low polluted area. Residents of these settlements between 6 and 65 years of age filled out an ATS-NHLI health questionnaire and performed the following pulmonary function tests (PFT): FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC, PEF, FEF50, and FEF75. A trend of higher prevalence of reported respiratory symptoms and diseases characterizes children growing up in a polluted rural as compared with a low polluted rural area. The relative risks (calculated from logistic models) for children from the polluted area to have sputum with cold is 2.13, cough accompanied by sputum 3.89, and for their siblings to have respiratory diseases 3.02, as compared with 1.00 in the low polluted area. A trend of lower PFT characterizes children from the polluted area, with significantly reduced PEF (P = 0.054). The trends for adults in the two areas were similar to those for the children. The relative risks for adults from the polluted area to have sputum is 1.7 and cough accompanied by sputum 2.6, as compared with 1.0 in the low polluted area. PEF is significantly lower (P = 0.002) among adults from the polluted area, while FEF50 and FEF75 are lower (not significantly) among adults from the low polluted area.