title: Long term effects of prenatal and postnatal airborne PAH exposures on ventilatory lung function of non-asthmatic preadolescent children. Prospective birth cohort study in Krakow.
abstract: The main goal of the study was to test the hypothesis that prenatal and postnatal exposures to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are associated with depressed lung function in non-asthmatic children. The study sample comprises 195 non-asthmatic children of non-smoking mothers, among whom the prenatal PAH exposure was assessed by personal air monitoring in pregnancy. At the age of 3, residential air monitoring was carried out to evaluate the residential PAH exposure indoors and outdoors. At the age of 5 to 8, children were given allergic skin tests for indoor allergens; and between 5 and 9 years lung function testing (FVC, FEV05, FEV1 and FEF25-75) was performed. The effects of prenatal PAH exposure on lung function tests repeated over the follow-up were adjusted in the General Estimated Equation (GEE) model for the relevant covariates. No association between FVC with prenatal PAH exposure was found; however for the FEV1 deficit associated with higher prenatal PAH exposure (above 37 ng/m(3)) amounted to 53 mL (p=0.050) and the deficit of FEF25-75 reached 164 mL (p=0.013). The corresponding deficits related to postnatal residential indoor PAH level (above 42 ng/m(3)) were 59 mL of FEV1 (p=0.028) and 140 mL of FEF25-75 (p=0.031). At the higher residential outdoor PAH level (above 90 ng/m(3)) slightly greater deficit of FEV1 (71 mL, p=0.009) was observed. The results of the study suggest that transplacental exposure to PAH compromises the normal developmental process of respiratory airways and that this effect is compounded by postnatal PAH exposure.
authors.affiliation: Chair of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland. Electronic address: myjedryc@cyf-kr.edu.pl.
authors.forename: Wieslaw A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Jedrychowski
authors.affiliation: Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health, Mailman School Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Frederica P
authors.initials: FP
authors.lastname: Perera
authors.affiliation: Institute for Studies in Clinical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: Umberto
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Maugeri
authors.affiliation: Chair of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland.
authors.forename: Renata
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Majewska
authors.affiliation: Chair of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland.
authors.forename: Elzbieta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mroz
authors.affiliation: Chair of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland.
authors.forename: Elzbieta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Flak
authors.affiliation: Department of Analytical and Environmental Chemistry, Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Camann
authors.affiliation: Chair of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland.
authors.forename: Agata
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sowa
authors.affiliation: Chair of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland.
authors.forename: Ryszard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jacek
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018811:Maternal Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011044:Poland; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis*; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
keywords: Air pollution; Birth cohort; Lung function; Prenatal exposure; Preschool children