Association between PM1 Exposure and Lung Function in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Zhiqiang Zong; Mengjie Zhao; Mengyue Zhang; Kexin Xu; Yunquan Zhang; Xiujun Zhang; Chengyang Hu

doi:10.3390/ijerph192315888

Association between PM₁ Exposure and Lung Function in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Nov 29;19(23):15888. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192315888.

Authors

Zhiqiang Zong¹, Mengjie Zhao², Mengyue Zhang¹, Kexin Xu¹, Yunquan Zhang³, Xiujun Zhang⁴, Chengyang Hu^{4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Clinical Medicine, The Second School of Clinical Medicine, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China.
² Department of Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China.
³ School of Public Health, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430065, China.
⁴ Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China.
⁵ Department of Humanistic Medicine, School of Humanistic Medicine, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China.

Abstract

The detrimental effects of PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ (particulate matter less than 2.5 or 10 μm) on human respiratory system, including lung function, have been widely assessed. However, the associations between PM₁ (particulate matter of less than 1 μm) and lung function in children and adolescents are less explored, and current evidence is inconsistent. We conducted a meta-analysis of the literature on the association between PM₁ and lung function in children and adolescents to fill this gap. With no date or language constraints, we used a combination of MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) terms and free text to search PubMed, EMBASE and Web of Science databases through, 1 October 2022 for "PM₁ exposure" and "lung function". A total of 6420 relevant studies were identified through our initial search, and seven studies were included in our study. In this meta-analysis, the fixed effect and random effects statistical models were used to estimate the synthesized effects of the seven included studies. For every 10 μg/m³ increase in short-term PM₁ exposure, forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV₁), peak expiratory flow (PEF) and maximal mid-expiratory flow (MMEF) decreased by 31.82 mL (95% CI: 20.18, 43.45), 32.28 mL (95% CI: 16.73, 48.91), 36.85 mL/s (95% CI: 15.33, 58.38) and 34.51 mL/s (95% CI: 19.61, 49.41), respectively. For each 10 μg/m³ increase in long-term PM₁ exposure, FVC, FEV₁, PEF and MMEF decreased by 102.34 mL (95% CI: 49.30, 155.38), 75.17 mL (95% CI: 39.61, 110.73), 119.01 mL/s (95% CI: 72.14, 165.88) and 44.94 mL/s (95% CI: 4.70, 85.18), respectively. Our study provides further scientific evidence for the harmful effects of PM₁ exposure on lung function in children and adolescents, indicating that exposure to PM₁ is detrimental to pulmonary health. To reduce the adverse health effects of air pollution on children and adolescents, effective preventive measures should be taken.

Keywords: PM1; adolescents; air pollution; children; cohort study; lung function; meta-analysis.

Publication types

Meta-Analysis
Systematic Review
Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Air Pollutants* / analysis
Air Pollution* / analysis
Child
Environmental Exposure / adverse effects
Environmental Exposure / analysis
Humans
Lung
Particulate Matter / analysis

Substances

Air Pollutants
Particulate Matter

Grants and funding

This research was funded by the Open Fund Project of Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Occupational Hazard Identification and Control (grant number OHIC2020Y01), National Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program for College Students (grant number 202210366019) and the Key Projects of Natural Science Research of Anhui Provincial Department of Education (grant number 2020KJA0163).