Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The association between ambient temperature and children’s lung function in Baotou, China

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
International Journal of Biometeorology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The objective of this study is to examine the association between ambient temperature and children’s lung function in Baotou, China. We recruited 315 children (8–12 years) from Baotou, China in the spring of 2004, 2005, and 2006. They performed three successive forced expiratory measurements three times daily (morning, noon, and evening) for about 5 weeks. The highest peak expiratory flow (PEF) was recorded for each session. Daily data on ambient temperature, relative humidity, and air pollution were monitored during the same period. Mixed models with a distributed lag structure were used to examine the effects of temperature on lung function while adjusting for individual characteristics and environmental factors. Low temperatures were significantly associated with decreases in PEF. The effects lasted for lag 0–2 days. For all participants, the cumulative effect estimates (lag 0–2 days) were −1.44 (−1.93, −0.94) L/min, −1.39 (−1.92, −0.86) L/min, −1.40 (−1.97, −0.82) L/min, and −1.28 (−1.69, −0.88) L/min for morning, noon, evening, and daily mean PEF, respectively, associated with 1 °C decrease in daily mean temperature. Generally, the effects of temperature were slightly stronger in boys than in girls for noon, evening, and daily mean PEF, while the effects were stronger in girls for morning PEF. PM2.5 had joint effects with temperature on children’s PEF. Higher PM2.5 increased the impacts of low temperature. Low ambient temperatures are associated with lower lung function in children in Baotou, China. Preventive health policies will be required for protecting children from the cold weather.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Analitis A, Katsouyanni K, Biggeri A, Baccini M, Forsberg B, Bisanti L, Kirchmayer U, Ballester F, Cadum E, Goodman PG, Hojs A, Sunyer J, Tiittanen P, Michelozzi P (2008) Effects of cold weather on mortality: results from 15 European cities within the PHEWE project. Am J Epidemiol 168(12):1397–1408

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson GB, Bell ML (2011) Heat waves in the United States: mortality risk during heat waves and effect modification by heat wave characteristics in 43 U.S. communities. Environ Health Perspect 119(2):210–218

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Basu R (2009) High ambient temperature and mortality: a review of epidemiologic studies from 2001 to 2008. Environ Health 8:40

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Basu R, Ostro BD (2008) A multicounty analysis identifying the populations vulnerable to mortality associated with high ambient temperature in California. Am J Epidemiol 168(6):632–637

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Collaco JM, McGready J, Green DM, Naughton KM, Watson CP, Shields T, Bell SC, Wainwright CE, Cutting GR (2011) Effect of temperature on cystic fibrosis lung disease and infections: a replicated cohort study. PLoS One 6(11):e27784

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Core Team R (2013) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria

    Google Scholar 

  • Delfino RJ, Staimer N, Tjoa T, Gillen D, Kleinman MT, Sioutas C, Cooper D (2008) Personal and ambient air pollution exposures and lung function decrements in children with asthma. Environ Health Perspect 116(4):550–558

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Donaldson GC, Seemungal T, Jeffries DJ, Wedzicha JA (1999) Effect of temperature on lung function and symptoms in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Eur Respir J 13(4):844–849

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Driessen JM, van der Palen J, van Aalderen WM, de Jongh FH, Thio BJ (2012) Inspiratory airflow limitation after exercise challenge in cold air in asthmatic children. Respir Med 106(10):1362–1368

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guo Y, Barnett AG, Pan X, Yu W, Tong S (2011) The impact of temperature on mortality in Tianjin, China: a case-crossover design with a distributed lag nonlinear model. Environ Health Perspect 119(12):1719–1725

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guo Y, Jiang F, Peng L, Zhang J, Geng F, Xu J, Zhen C, Shen X, Tong S (2012) The association between cold spells and pediatric outpatient visits for asthma in Shanghai, China. PLoS One 7(7):e42232

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Guo Y, Barnett AG, Tong S (2013a) Spatiotemporal model or time series model for assessing city-wide temperature effects on mortality? Environ Res 120:55–62

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Guo Y, Li S, Zhang Y, Armstrong B, Jaakkola JJ, Tong S, Pan X (2013b) Extremely cold and hot temperatures increase the risk of ischaemic heart disease mortality: epidemiological evidence from China. Heart 99(3):195–203

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holgate ST, Koren HS, Samet JM, Maynard RL (1999) Air pollution and health. Academic, London

    Google Scholar 

  • James Gauderman W, McConnell R, Gilliland F, London S, Thomas D, Avol E, Vora H, Berhane K, Rappaport EB, Lurmann F (2000) Association between air pollution and lung function growth in southern California children. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 162(4):1383–1390

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koskela HO (2007) Cold air-provoked respiratory symptoms: the mechanisms and management. Int J Circumpolar Health 66(2):91–100

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koskela HO, Koskela AK, Tukiainen HO (1996) Bronchoconstriction due to cold weather in COPD—the roles of direct airway effects and cutaneous reflex mechanisms. Chest 110(3):632–636

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li S, Baker PJ, Jalaludin BB, Guo Y, Marks GB, Denison LS, Williams GM (2014a) Are childrens asthmatic symptoms related to ambient temperature? A panel study in Australia. Environ Res 133:239–245

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li S, Baker PJ, Jalaludin BB, Guo Y, Marks GB, Denison LS, Williams GM (2014b) An Australian national panel study of diurnal temperature range and children’s respiratory health. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 112(4):348–353

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li S, Baker PJ, Jalaludin BB, Marks GB, Denison LS, Williams GM (2014c) Ambient temperature and lung function in children with asthma in Australia. Eur Respir J 43(4):1059–1066

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Madaniyazi L, Guo Y, Ye X, Kim D, Zhang Y, Pan X (2013) Effects of airborne metals on lung function in inner Mongolian schoolchildren. J Occup Environ Med 55(1):80–86

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mann M, Patel K, Reardon JZ, Goldstein M, Godar TJ, ZuWallack RL (1993) The influence of spring and summer New England meteorologic conditions on the respiratory status of patients with chronic lung disease. Chest 103(5):1369–1374

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • O’Neill MS, Zanobetti A, Schwartz J (2003) Modifiers of the temperature and mortality association in seven US cities. Am J Epidemiol 157(12):1074–1082

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pellegrino R, Viegi G, Brusasco V, Crapo RO, Burgos F, Casaburi R, Coates A, van der Grinten CP, Gustafsson P, Hankinson J, Jensen R, Johnson DC, MacIntyre N, McKay R, Miller MR, Navajas D, Pedersen OF, Wanger J (2005) Interpretative strategies for lung function tests. Eur Respir J 26(5):948–968

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pope CA III, Ezzati M, Dockery DW (2009) Fine-particulate air pollution and life expectancy in the United States. N Engl J Med 360(4):376–386

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schroeder EB, Welch VL, Couper D, Nieto FJ, Liao D, Rosamond WD, Heiss G (2003) Lung function and incident coronary heart disease: the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study. Am J Epidemiol 158(12):1171–1181

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sheffield PE, Landrigan PJ (2011) Global climate change and children’s health: threats and strategies for prevention. Environ Health Perspect 119(3):291

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sin DD, Wu L, Man SF (2005) The relationship between reduced lung function and cardiovascular mortality: a population-based study and a systematic review of the literature. Chest 127(6):1952–1959

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smargiassi A, Goldberg MS, Wheeler AJ, Plante C, Valois MF, Mallach G, Kauri LM, Shutt R, Bartlett S, Raphoz M, Liu L (2014) Associations between personal exposure to air pollutants and lung function tests and cardiovascular indices among children with asthma living near an industrial complex and petroleum refineries. Environ Res 132:38–45

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wilmshurst PT, Nuri M, Crowther A, Webb-Peploe MM (1989) Cold-induced pulmonary oedema in scuba divers and swimmers and subsequent development of hypertension. Lancet 1(8629):62–65

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wood SN (2011) Fast stable restricted maximum likelihood and marginal likelihood estimation of semiparametric generalized linear models. J R Stat Soc Ser B Stat Methodol 73(1):3–36

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu SW, Deng FR, Hao Y, Wang X, Zheng CJ, Lv HB, Lu XL, Wei HY, Huang J, Qin Y, Shima M, Guo XB (2014) Fine particulate matter, temperature, and lung function in healthy adults: findings from the HVNR study. Chemosphere 108:168–174

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xu ZW, Etzel RA, Su H, Huang CR, Guo YM, Tong SL (2012) Impact of ambient temperature on children’s health: a systematic review. Environ Res 117:120–131

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ye X, Wolff R, Yu W, Vaneckova P, Pan X, Tong S (2012) Ambient temperature and morbidity: a review of epidemiological evidence. Environ Health Perspect 120(1):19–28

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF), South Korea (2004–2008); National Natural Science Foundation of China (#81273033); and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Meteorology and Health (#QXJK201305). Shanshan Li was supported by the University of Queensland Graduate School International Travel Award.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Population Health, University of Queensland, Herston Road, Brisbane, Herston, QLD 4006, Australia

    Shanshan Li, Yuming Guo, Gail Williams & Peter Baker

  2. Shanghai Key Laboratory of Meteorology and Health, Shanghai, China

    Xiaofang Ye

  3. School of Public Health and Social Work, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Lina Madaniyazi

  4. National Institute of Environmental Research, Seoul, South Korea

    Dae-Seon Kim

  5. Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Peking University, 38 Xueyuan Road, Haidian, Beijing, 100191, China

    Xiaochuan Pan

Authors
  1. Shanshan Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yuming Guo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Gail Williams
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Peter Baker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Xiaofang Ye
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Lina Madaniyazi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Dae-Seon Kim
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Xiaochuan Pan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Shanshan Li or Xiaochuan Pan.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

ESM 1

(DOC 104 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Li, S., Guo, Y., Williams, G. et al. The association between ambient temperature and children’s lung function in Baotou, China. Int J Biometeorol 59, 791–798 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-014-0897-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-014-0897-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation