Chinese Medical Journal (Jan 2016)

Living near a Major Road in Beijing: Association with Lower Lung Function, Airway Acidification, and Chronic Cough

  • Zhan-Wei Hu,
  • Yan-Ni Zhao,
  • Yuan Cheng,
  • Cui-Yan Guo,
  • Xi Wang,
  • Nan Li,
  • Jun-Qing Liu,
  • Hui Kang,
  • Guo-Guang Xia,
  • Ping Hu,
  • Ping-Ji Zhang,
  • Jing Ma,
  • Ying Liu,
  • Cheng Zhang,
  • Li Su,
  • Guang-Fa Wang

DOI
https://doi.org/10.4103/0366-6999.189923
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 129, no. 18
pp. 2184 – 2190

Abstract

Read online

Background: The effects of near-road pollution on lung function in China have not been well studied. We aimed to investigate the effects of long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution on lung function, airway inflammation, and respiratory symptoms. Methods: We enrolled 1003 residents aged 57.96 ± 8.99 years living in the Shichahai Community in Beijing. Distances between home addresses and the nearest major roads were measured to calculate home-road distance. We used the distance categories 1, 2, and 3, representing 200 m, respectively, as the dose indicator for traffic-related air pollution exposure. Lung function, exhaled breath condensate (EBC) pH, and interleukin 6 levels were measured. As a follow-up, 398 participants had a second lung function assessment about 3 years later, and lung function decline was also examined as an outcome. We used regression analysis to assess the impacts of home-road distance on lung function and respiratory symptoms. As the EBC biomarker data were not normally distributed, we performed correlation analysis between home-road distance categories and EBC biomarkers. Results: Participants living a shorter distance from major roads had lower percentage of predicted value of forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1% −1.54, 95% confidence interval [CI]: −0.20 to −2.89). The odds ratio for chronic cough was 2.54 (95% CI: 1.57–4.10) for category 1 and 1.97 (95% CI: 1.16–3.37) for category 2, compared with category 3. EBC pH was positively correlated with road distance (rank correlation coefficient of Spearman [rs] = 0.176, P < 0.001). Conclusions: Long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution in people who live near major roads in Beijing is associated with lower lung function, airway acidification, and a higher prevalence of chronic cough. EBC pH is a potential useful biomarker for evaluating air pollution exposure.

Keywords