Cardiopulmonary effects of overnight indoor air filtration in healthy non-smoking adults: A double-blind randomized crossover study.
Journal Article (Journal Article)
Background
More than 90% of the world's population lives in areas where outdoor air pollution levels exceed health-based limits. In these areas, individuals may use indoor air filtration, often on a sporadic basis, in their residences to reduce exposure to respirable particles (PM2.5 ). Whether this intervention can lead to improvements in health outcomes has not been evaluated.Methods
Seventy non-smoking healthy adults, aged 19 to 26 years, received both true and sham indoor air filtration in a double-blinded randomized crossover study. Each filtration session was approximately 13 h long. True and sham filtration sessions were separated by a two-week washout interval. The study was carried out in a suburb of Shanghai.Results
During the study period, outdoor PM2.5 concentrations ranged from 18.6 to 106.9 μg/m3 , which overlapped with levels measured in Western Europe and North America. Compared to sham filtration, true filtration on average decreased indoor PM2.5 concentration by 72.4% to 10.0 μg/m3 and particle number concentration by 59.2% to 2316/cm3 . For lung function measured immediately after the end of filtration, true filtration significantly lowered airway impedance at 5 Hz (Z5 ) by 7.1% [95% CI: 2.4%, 11.9%], airway resistance at 5 Hz (R5 ) by 7.4% [95% CI: 2.4%, 12.5%], and small airway resistance (R5 -R20 ) by 20.3% [95% CI: 0.1%, 40.5%], reflecting improved airway mechanics especially for the small airways. However, no significant improvements for spirometry indicators (FEV1 , FVC) were observed. True filtration also significantly lowered von Willebrand factor (VWF) by 26.9% [95% CI: 7.3%, 46.4%] 24 h after the end of filtration, indicating reduced risk for thrombosis. Stratified analysis in male and female participants showed that true filtration significantly decreased pulse pressure by 3.3% [95% CI: 0.8%, 7.4%] in females, and significantly reduced VWF by 42.4% [95% CI: 17.4%, 67.4%] and interleukin-6 by 22.6% [95% CI: 0.4%, 44.9%] in males. Effect modification analyses indicated that filtration effects in male and female participants were not significantly different.Conclusion
A single overnight residential air filtration, capable of reducing indoor particle concentrations substantially, can lead to improved airway mechanics and reduced thrombosis risk.Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Cui, X; Li, F; Xiang, J; Fang, L; Chung, MK; Day, DB; Mo, J; Weschler, CJ; Gong, J; He, L; Zhu, D; Lu, C; Han, H; Zhang, Y; Zhang, JJ
Published Date
- May 2018
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 114 /
Start / End Page
- 27 - 36
PubMed ID
- 29475121
Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)
- 1873-6750
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
- 0160-4120
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1016/j.envint.2018.02.010
Language
- eng