The Po River Delta (north Italy) indoor epidemiological study: effects of pollutant exposure on XXXX and respiratory function in adults.

@entity1 @entity3617 @entity7459 @entity565 @entity1576
The authors studied the effects of relatively low doses of @entity7459 and respirable suspended particulate matter (i.e., < 2.5 mu) on @entity1576 and on peak expiratory flow in 383 adults (15-72 yr of age) who lived in the Po River Delta area, located near Venice. During 2 wk-1 wk in winter and 1 wk in summer--the authors monitored each @entity1 's house to measure @entity7459 (in parts per billion) and respirable suspended particulate (microgram/m3) concentration. Information on sex, age, height, weight, daily activity patterns, active and passive smoking, chronic @entity1576 , daily peak expiratory flow, and presence of @entity1576 during the weeks monitoring occurred were also collected. Peak expiratory flow variation was studied as mean amplitude percentage (i.e., amplitude/mean) and percentage of diurnal variation (maximum/minimum). The exposure indices to @entity7459 ( @entity7459 --index of exposure) and to respirable suspended particulate matter (respirable suspended particulate matter-index of exposure) were computed as the product of pollutant concentration and time of exposure. The authors considered indices as "low" or "high" on the basis of the median value. The median @entity7459 was 20 ppb in winter and 14 ppb in summer; the highest @entity7459 levels occurred in the kitchen in the winter (33 ppb) and summer (20 ppb). The median respirable suspended particulate matter was 68 micrograms/m3 in winter and 45 micrograms/m3 in summer. Only in winter were there significant associations between bronchitic/asthmatic symptoms and "high" @entity7459 and respirable suspended particulate matter indices. In subjects who did not smoke, a significant influence of the "high" respirable suspended particulate matter-index of exposure was also observed in summer. With respect to peak expiratory flow and its variability, respirable suspended particulate matter-index of exposure was associated with an increase of both amplitude/mean and maximum/mean; however, with respect to the @entity7459 --index of exposure, the association was significant only in subjects with chronic @entity1576 (i.e., @entity565 and @entity3617 ). These relationships were significant only in winter. In conclusion, the results of the current study indicate that there is an association between relatively low doses of pollutants and @entity1576 and peak expiratory flow in adults.
