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Short-term effects of real-time individual fine particulate matter exposure on lung function: a panel study in Zhuhai, China

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Abstract

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is still the primary air pollutant in most Chinese cities and its adverse effects on lung function have been widely reported. However, short-term effects of individual exposure to PM2.5 on pulmonary expiration flow indices remain largely unknown. In this study, we examined the short-term effects of real-time individual exposure to PM2.5 on lung function in a panel of 115 healthy adults. We measured individual real-time PM2.5 exposure and lung function. Environmental PM2.5 concentrations in the same period were collected from the nearest monitoring station. Generalized linear model was used to assess the effects of individual PM2.5 exposure on lung function after adjusting for potential confounders. Individual PM2.5 exposure ranged from 18.5 to 42.4 μg/m3 with fluctuations over time and ambient PM2.5 concentrations presented a moderate trend of fluctuation at the same day. Except forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) decline related to 2-h moving average PM2.5 exposure, no significant associations between individual PM2.5 exposure and other volume indices including forced vital capacity (FVC) and FEV1/FVC ratio were observed. The adverse effects of individual PM2.5 exposure on pulmonary expiration flow indices including peak expiratory flow (PEF), maximal mid-expiratory flow (MMF) and forced expiratory flow at 50%, and 75% of vital capacity (FEF50% and FEF75%) were observed to be strongest at 2 moving average hours and could last for 24 h. Stratified analysis showed greater and longer effects among participants who were aged over 40 years, males, or smokers. These findings suggested that individual PM2.5 exposure was significantly associated with altered lung function, especially with pulmonary expiration flow indices decline, which was strongest at 2 moving average hours and could last for 24 h.

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Acknowledgements

We thank all participants involved in the present study.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets generated and analyzed in the present study are not publicly available due to privacy concerns, but reasonable requests to access the data can be sent to corresponding author.

Funding

This study was funded by the Key Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number: 91543207) and the Major Research Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number: 91843302).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, Hubei, China

    Zi Ye, Bin Wang, Ge Mu, Yun Zhou, Weihong Qiu, Shijie Yang, Xing Wang, Zhuang Zhang & Weihong Chen

  2. Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Environmental Protection, and State Key Laboratory of Environmental Health (Incubating), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, Hubei, China

    Zi Ye, Bin Wang, Ge Mu, Yun Zhou, Weihong Qiu, Shijie Yang, Xing Wang, Zhuang Zhang & Weihong Chen

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  1. Zi Ye
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  9. Weihong Chen
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Contributions

W.C. was responsible for the design of the present study, obtaining funding, reviewed the manuscript, and assisted with manuscript revision. Z.Y. conducted data collection, performed the statistical analyzes, drafted, and revised the manuscript. Z.Y., B.W., G.M., Y.Z., W.Q., S.Y., X.W., Z.Z., and W.C. contributed to the data acquisition, manuscript revision, and final version approval.

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Correspondence to Weihong Chen.

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The study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of the School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology. All participants have given written informed consent for participation before the study began.

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Not applicable.

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The authors declare no competing of interests.

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Responsible Editor: Lotfi Aleya

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Ye, Z., Wang, B., Mu, G. et al. Short-term effects of real-time individual fine particulate matter exposure on lung function: a panel study in Zhuhai, China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 65140–65149 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-15246-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-15246-x

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