Gauderman WJ, Avol E, Gilliland F, Vora H, Thomas D, Berhane K, McConnell R, Kuenzli N, Lurmann F, Rappaport E, Margolis H, Bates D, Peters J. 2004. The effect of air pollution on lung development from 10 to 18 years of age. The New England Journal of Medicine, 351 (11): 1057-1067.
This study included 1759 children (average age 10 years old at start of study) from public schools in 12 Southern California communities. Their lung function was measured each year for eight years, including forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and the ratio of measured versus predicted FEV1. Over the eight years, decreases in FEV1, even after accounting for potentially confounding variables and effect modifying variables, was statistically significantly associated with several outdoor air pollutant concentrations like nitrogen dioxide and fine particles (PM2.5). They also reported results based on other lung function measures and publically available measured outdoor air pollutant concentration data.
It is important to note the measured outdoor air pollutant concentrations ranged from low (below standards) to high (above standards) during the study; the potential exposures were thus chronic and varied in intensity.
The abstract published in New England Journal of Medicine; is available at:
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/abstract/351/11/1057
A news article was available in the Contra Costa Times on 9/9/04 at:
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/9616836.htm
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