Asthma symptoms among adolescents who attend public schools that are located near confined swine feeding operations.
OBJECTIVE
Little is known about the health effects of living in close proximity to industrial swine operations. We assessed the relationship between estimated exposure to airborne effluent from confined swine feeding operations and asthma symptoms among adolescents who were aged 12 to 14 years.


METHODS
During the 1999-2000 school year, 58169 adolescents in North Carolina answered questions about their respiratory symptoms, allergies, medications, socioeconomic status, and household environments. To estimate the extent to which these students may have been exposed during the school day to air pollution from confined swine feeding operations, we used publicly available data about schools (n = 265) and swine operations (n = 2343) to generate estimates of exposure for each public school. Prevalence ratios and 95% confidence intervals for wheezing within the past year were estimated using random-intercepts binary regression models, adjusting for potential confounders, including age, race, socioeconomic status, smoking, school exposures, and household exposures.


RESULTS
The prevalence of wheezing during the past year was slightly higher at schools that were estimated to be exposed to airborne effluent from confined swine feeding operations. For students who reported allergies, the prevalence of wheezing within the past year was 5% higher at schools that were located within 3 miles of an operation relative to those beyond 3 miles and 24% higher at schools in which livestock odor was noticeable indoors twice per month or more relative to those with no odor.


CONCLUSIONS
Estimated exposure to airborne pollution from confined swine feeding operations is associated with adolescents' wheezing symptoms.
Mirabelli
Maria C
MC
Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA. mmirabelli@imim.es
Wing
Steve
S
Marshall
Stephen W
SW
Wilcosky
Timothy C
TC
D000293:Adolescent; D000393:Air Pollutants; D000822:Animal Husbandry; D000818:Animals; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004782:Environmental Health; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009657:North Carolina / Q000453:epidemiology; D012135:Respiratory Sounds / Q000209:etiology*; D012574:Schools / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012923:Social Class; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013552:Swine
D000393:Air Pollutants