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Industrial Exposures at Birth are Associated with Reduced Forced Vital Capacity in Childhood
Citation:
NEAS, L. M., S. MUKERJEE, A. H. WILLIAMS, AND L. Smith. Industrial Exposures at Birth are Associated with Reduced Forced Vital Capacity in Childhood. Presented at International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE) 2011 Conference, Barcelona, SPAIN, September 13 - 16, 2011.
Impact/Purpose:
Early life exposures as indexed by modeled outdoor concentrations of petroleum related compounds for the residence at birth appear to be associated with persistent decrements in lung volumes
Description:
Rationale: Previous studies have reported associations of ambient air pollutant exposures with childhood decrements in lung volumes. While the current study was designed primarily to examine traffic exposures, we also examined the impact of other early life exposures on pulmonary function in childhood. Methods: From a general clinic population in Detroit and Dearborn, MI in the fall of 2007, we examined children aged 7 to 13 years with reproducible spirometry using a case-cohort approach to enrich the cohort with asthma: 241 with asthma and 365 without asthma. In a clinical setting, we collected pulmonary function and exhaled nitric oxide measurements using standard ATS/ERS protocols. Using existing information on traffic and local point sources coupled with passive monitoring of nitrogen dioxide and petroleum-related volatile organic compounds (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes), we developed land-use regression models to estimate the long-term, outdoor exposures of these children at their current residence and at their birth residence. Forced vital capacity (FVC) and other measures of pulmonary function was modeled as the natural logarithm adjusted for a random neighborhood effect; sex; race; the natural logarithms of weight, height and the interaction of height and sex; parental education; home ownership; and environmental tobacco smoke in the home. Results: In this population, 43 percent of the children had different residences at birth. Based on their birth residence, a 100-ppt increment in modeled o-xylene was linearly associated with a 2.6 percent decrement in FVC (95% CI -4.7, -0.5) and this decrement was stronger among the 365 children without asthma (-3.2 percent, 95% CI -6.0, -0.5). Proximity to a specific industrial site was associated with a 2.2 percent decrement in FVC (95% CI -3.4, -0.1) for a 5 km increment. Other estimated petroleum-related compounds at birth residence showed similar associations, but weaker associations at their current residence. Conclusions: Early life exposures as indexed by modeled outdoor concentrations of petroleum related compounds for the residence at birth appear to be associated with persistent decrements in lung volumes. This abstract of a proposed presentation does not necessarily represent EPA policy.