ACUTE RESPIRATORY EFFECTS OF INDOOR POLLUTANTS IN TWO GENERAL POPULATION SAMPLES LIVING IN A RURAL AND IN AN URBAN AREA OF ITALY

摘要

To investigate the effects of indoor pollution on acute respiratory symptoms, 421 houses in Po Delta rural and in Pisa urban areas were monitored for nitrogen dioxide (NO_2) and particulate matter <2.5μm (PM_(2.5)). Exposure indices were computed as products of pollutant concentration and exposure time. Mean levels resulted significantly higher in winter than in summer; PM2.5 was significantly higher in presence of tobacco smoke, regardless of the area. In winter, acute respiratory illnesses were related to NO_2 and PM_(2.5) in adults (O.R.=1.50, 95%CI 0.96-2.33; O.R.=1.70, 1.10-2.65, respectively); bronchitic/asthmatic symptoms only to PM_(2.5) (O.R.=1,31, 1.10-1.55). In spite of slightly lower indoor level in the urban than in the rural area (NO_2=15 vs 22ppb; PM_(2.5)=67 vs 76μg/m~3), a significant 'urban' effect on the presence of acute symptoms was found: complex inter-relationships between indoor and outdoor pollution may explain this result.