title: Effect of Asian dust on pulmonary function in adult asthma patients in western Japan: A panel study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Asian dust (AD) has become a major health concern. The concentration of AD is typically expressed in particulate matter less than 10 μm (PM10) and 2.5 μm (PM2.5). However, PM10 and PM2.5 consist of various substances besides AD. Light detection and ranging (LIDAR) systems can selectively measure the quantity of AD particles to distinguish non-spherical airborne particles from spherical airborne particles. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between pulmonary function in adult asthma patients and AD using LIDAR data.
  
  
  METHODS
  Subjects were 231 adult asthma patients who had their morning peak expiratory flow (PEF) measured from March to May 2012. A linear mixed model was used to estimate the association of PEF with sand dust particles detected by LIDAR.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Increases in the interquartile range of AD particles (0.018 km(-1)) led to changes in PEF of -0.42 L/min (95% confidence interval [CI], -0.85 to 0.01). An increase of 11.8 μg/m(3) in suspended particulate matter and 6.9 μg/m(3) in PM2.5 led to decreases of -0.17 L/min (-0.53 to 0.21) and 0.03 L/min (-0.35 to 0.42), respectively. A heavy AD day was defined as a day with a level of AD particles >0.032 km(-1), which was the average plus one standard deviation during the study period, and six heavy AD days were identified. Change in PEF after a heavy AD day was -0.97 L/min (-1.90 to -0.04).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Heavy exposure to AD particles was significantly associated with decreased pulmonary function in adult asthma patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine and Rheumatology, Tottori University Faculty of Medicine, Tottori, Japan. Electronic address: watanabm@grape.med.tottori-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Masanari
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.affiliation: Department of Data Science, The Institute of Statistical Mathematics, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Hisashi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Noma
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine and Rheumatology, Tottori University Faculty of Medicine, Tottori, Japan.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kurai
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine and Allergology, Kinki University Faculty of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sano
authors.affiliation: Hosshoji Clinic, Tottori, Japan.
authors.forename: Masaaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mikami
authors.affiliation: Saihaku Hospital, Tottori, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine and Rheumatology, Tottori University Faculty of Medicine, Tottori, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasuto
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ueda
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine and Rheumatology, Tottori University Faculty of Medicine, Tottori, Japan.
authors.forename: Hirokazu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Touge
authors.affiliation: Sakaiminato Hospital, Tottori, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fujii
authors.affiliation: Matsue National Hospital, Shimane, Japan.
authors.forename: Toshikazu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ikeda
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Matsue Red Cross Hospital, Shimane, Japan.
authors.forename: Hirokazu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tokuyasu
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Matsue City Hospital, Shimane, Japan.
authors.forename: Tatsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Konishi
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine and Rheumatology, Tottori University Faculty of Medicine, Tottori, Japan.
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yamasaki
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine and Rheumatology, Tottori University Faculty of Medicine, Tottori, Japan.
authors.forename: Tadashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Igishi
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine and Rheumatology, Tottori University Faculty of Medicine, Tottori, Japan.
authors.forename: Eiji
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Shimizu
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015897:Comorbidity; D004391:Dust; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000009:adverse effects; D010366:Peak Expiratory Flow Rate; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D004391:Dust; D052638:Particulate Matter
keywords: Adult asthma; Asian dust; Light detection and ranging; Peak expiratory flow; Sand dust particles