Respiratory Health Symptoms among Students Exposed to Different Levels of Air Pollution in a Turkish City
Open Access
- 13 April 2011
- journal article
- research article
- Published by MDPI AG in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
- Vol. 8 (4), 1110-1125
- https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph8041110
Abstract
In this study, we aimed to investigate the frequency of respiratory health symptoms among high school students attending schools at industrial, urban and rural areas in a Turkish city. Three schools located in different zones of the city having different pollution characteristics were chosen based on the pollutant distribution maps using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) software. A cross-sectional survey was performed among 667 high school students in the schools. Outdoor and indoor nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and ozone (O3) concentrations were also measured by passive samplers in the same schools to investigate possible routes of exposure. Chronic pulmonary disease (OR = 1.49; 95%CI: 1.11–1.99; p = 0.008), tightness in the chest (OR = 1.57; 95%CI: 1.22–2.02; p = 0.001), morning cough (OR = 1.81 95%CI: 1.19–2.75; p = 0.006) were higher among students in the industrial zone where nitrogen dioxide and ozone levels were also highest. There were no indoor sources of nitrogen dioxide and ozone exists in the schools except for the dining hall. As a conclusion, this study has noticed that air pollution and respiratory health problems among high school students are high in industrial zones and the use of passive samplers combined with GIS is an effective tool that may be used by public health researchers to identify pollutant zones and persons at risk.Keywords
This publication has 39 references indexed in Scilit:
- International Collaboration on Air Pollution and Pregnancy Outcomes (ICAPPO)International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2010
- The Effect of High Ambient Temperature on the Elderly Population in Three Regions of SwedenInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2010
- The effect of ambient air pollution on respiratory health of school children: a panel studyEnvironmental Health, 2008
- Asthmatic Symptoms among Pupils in Relation to Winter Indoor and Outdoor Air Pollution in Schools in Taiyuan, ChinaEnvironmental Health Perspectives, 2008
- Air Pollution, Social Deprivation, and MortalityEpidemiology, 2007
- Respiratory health and individual estimated exposure to traffic-related air pollutants in a cohort of young childrenOccupational and Environmental Medicine, 2006
- The Global Burden of Disease Due to Outdoor Air PollutionJournal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A, 2005
- Health effects of air pollutionJournal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 2004
- Using air pollution based community clusters to explore air pollution health effects in childrenEnvironment International, 2004
- Adverse effect of air pollution on respiratory health of primary school children in Taiwan.Environmental Health Perspectives, 1998