title: Adverse health effects of Asian dust particles and heavy metals in Japan.
abstract: Asian dust events are now considered an environmental problem rather than a natural seasonal phenomenon. In this study, we evaluated the associations between daily adverse health effects and Asian dust events in Yonago, Japan. Participants included 54 healthy volunteers, who were distributed survey sheets on nasal, ocular, respiratory, and skin effects in February 2009. Moreover, we collected meteorological and air pollutant (nitric oxide, sulfur dioxide, suspended particulate matter) data and determined pollen and metallic element concentrations in total suspended particulates. Both soil-derived metals (Fe, Ca, Al) and contaminating metals (Pb, Cr, Mn, Ni, Zn) were significantly increased on Asian dust days. Multiple regression analyses showed that the score of the skin effect was significantly associated with the levels of suspended particulate matter and Ni. The results show that increased air pollutants on Asian dust days may have skin effects.
authors.affiliation: Tottori University, Tottori, Yonago, Japan issey@med.tottori-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Kazunari
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Onishi
authors.affiliation: Tottori University, Tottori, Yonago, Japan.
authors.forename: Shinji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Otani
authors.affiliation: Tottori Prefectural Institute of Public Health and Environmental Science, Tottori, Yonago, Japan.
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.affiliation: Tottori University, Tottori, Yonago, Japan.
authors.forename: Haosheng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mu
authors.affiliation: Tottori University, Tottori, Yonago, Japan.
authors.forename: Youichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kurozawa
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis*; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis*; D004391:Dust / Q000032:analysis*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis*; D008875:Middle Aged; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis*; D012044:Regression Analysis
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D004391:Dust; D019216:Metals, Heavy; D052638:Particulate Matter