Health effects of a subway environment in healthy volunteers.
Environmental particle exposure, often estimated as the particulate mass of particles with a diameter <10 microm, <2.5 microm or <1 microm (PM(10), PM(2.5) or PM(1)), is known to have a negative impact on the health of the population. Little is known about how the size and origin of particles influence the effects. We have previously shown that exposure to a road tunnel environment causes a cellular inflammatory response in the airways of healthy individuals. In the present study, our aim was to investigate potential airway health effects from exposure to a subway environment. 20 healthy volunteers were exposed to a subway and a control environment for 2 h, followed by measurements of lung function and the inflammatory response in the lower airways (bronchoscopy) and in the peripheral blood. No cellular response was found in the airways after exposure to the subway environment. In the blood, we found a statistically significant increase in fibrinogen and regulatory T-cells expressing CD4/CD25/FOXP3. Subway and road tunnel environments have similar levels of PM(10) and PM(2.5), whilst the concentrations of ultrafine particles, nitrogen monoxide and dioxide are lower in the subway. Although no cellular response was detected, the findings indicate a biological response to the subway environment. Our studies show that using gravimetric estimates of ambient particulate air pollution alone may have clear limitations in health-risk assessment.
Klepczyńska Nyström
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Dept of Public Health Sciences, Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Norrbacka, 4th floor, SE-17176 Stockholm, Sweden. anna.klepczynska-nystrom@ki.se
Svartengren
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M
Grunewald
J
J
Pousette
C
C
Rödin
I
I
Lundin
A
A
Sköld
C M
CM
Eklund
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Larsson
B-M
BM
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000393:Air Pollutants; D000397:Air Pollution; D001999:Bronchoscopy / Q000379:methods; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000187:drug effects*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000032:analysis; D009585:Nitrogen Dioxide / Q000032:analysis; D010316:Particle Size; D011890:Railroads
D000393:Air Pollutants; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D009585:Nitrogen Dioxide