Pekkanen et al

Effects of ultrafine and fine particles in urban air among children with asthmatic symptoms. Environ.Res. 74:24-33. Timonen, K. L., J. Pekkanen, P. Tiittanen, and R. O. Salonen. 2002

Effects of air pollution on changes in lung function induced by exercise in children with chronic respiratory symptoms. Occup.Environ.Med. 59:129-134. Pekkanen, J., K. L. Timonen, J. Ruuskanen, A. Reponen, and A. Mirme. 1997

Abstract link: click here

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As a result of inhalation studies with ultrafine particles in rats it has been suggested that these particles may play a role in causing acute lung injury in susceptible individuals. Few studies have investigated the relation between health effects and ultrafine particles epidemiologically. Below is a summary of two recently published papers on a panel study performed in Kuopio, Finland from February to April 1994.

In 1997 Pekkanen et al reported on an epidemiological study looking at ultrafine particles and health effects. Measurements were made of PM10 and black smoke (BS) and of six size classes ranging from 0.01 to 10.0 µm (0.01 - 0.032 µm, 0.031 - 0.10 µm, 0.10 - 0.32 µm, 0.32 - 1.0 µm, 1.0 - 3.2 µm, 3.2 - 10 µm). Thirty-nine asthmatic children aged 7-12 years measured their peak flow rate twice daily during a 57-day follow-up study. All pollutants tended to be highly inter-correlated; however the only statistically significant associations between a decline in morning peak flow and an increase in pollution were observed with PM10 and BS. Different time lags of PM10 (lag 0, lag 1, lag 2, lag 3 and 4-day average) were also most consistently associated with decline in morning PEF. No significant or consistent associations were found between evening peak flow and any of the air pollutants. During the Pekkanen et al study, a separate study by Timonen and co-workers was conducted on 33 of the 39 children with chronic respiratory symptoms. The results of this study have been published this year. The objective was to investigate the effects of particulate air pollution on exercise-induced bronchial responsiveness. The latter was presented as forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), midmaximal expiratory flow (MMEF), and area under the expiratory flow-volume curve (AEFV). The ambient particle measurements are the same as in Pekkanen's study. Every alternate school week from February to April 1994 the children did an exercise challenge test on a bicycle ergometer (N=141). None of the air pollution variables had a significant association with the exercise-induced impairment in lung function. However a significant association was found with increased concentrations of BS, PM10, particle numbers, NO2 and CO and impairment of baseline lung function. Investigation of the 6 size classes of particle number concentrations and FEV1 at different time lags showed that the size ranges 0.1 - 0.3µm and 0.3 - 1.0 µm had the most consistent and significant associations.

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Review by Martine Dennekamp, Department of Environmental & Occupational & Environmental Medicine, University of Aberdeen

The views and opinions expressed in the text are solely of the review author

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