A survey of air pollution and health effects for the resident along the heavily traffic road was conducted. The survey subjects were houswives aged between 30 years and 69 years old who live in two areas-area A which is within 50 meters from a rout for motor vehicles only and area B which is from 150 to 200 meters away from the route.
1. Air pollution level (average of one month): Area A-SO
2 0.025 ppm, NO
2 0.045 ppm, CO 2.7 ppm, Pb 0.31 μg/m
3, Area B-almost half of degree of area A in each component. Noise level: Area A-mean 60.8 dB, Area B-mean 54.0 dB.
2. Respiratory symptomes by means of the Japanese version of British Medical Research Council's questionnaire (849 subjects): The increase of the prevalence rate of the persistent cough in accordance with theage in group A was greater than that in group B.
3. Pulmonary functions (spirogram, maximal expiratory flow-volume curve, closing volume in 518 subjeets): The data of FEV
1.0, FEV
1.0% V
50, V
25 suggest that there was no tendency to increase of obstructive impairment in group A comparing with group B. CV/VC % of group A was greater than that of group B in all age groups, and the difference between group A and group B was increased in the age group of 60.
4. The hearing loss with audiometer (405 subjects): The progress of hearing loss with advancing age and higher frequencies is greater in group A than in group B, and the difference between area A and B was significant statisticaly (
p < 0.05).
5. The symptomes of nasal cavity and pharynx (405 subjects): The atrophy of inferior turbinate was occured earlier to subjects in group A than to those in group B. We concider these changes cause the increase of secretion on nasopharynx in group A.
6. The biochemical activitiese of blood (197 subjeats): The change of δ-ALA·ED activity of group A by age was accelerated in comparison with that of group B. It seems that the source of such finding is unableto be explained on the basis of difference of Pb exposure condition between group A and B.
7. Above mentioned these differences of clinical findings except that of hearing loss between group A and B were not significant statistically, but it is considered that these trends to accerelate the age-related changes in prevarence rate of persistent cough, closing volume and function of nasal cavity or nasopharynx are worth notice as the early stage indices of health effect by air pollution.
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