ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Pulmonary responses of children chronically exposed to ambient air pollution in Calcutta have been investigated. METHODS: A total number of 153 children from Calcutta and 116 from rural West Bengal in the age group of 6-17 yr were included in this study. Respiratory symptom complex, sputum cytology and micronucleus (MN) count of buccal epithelial cells were evaluated. Blood smears were examined for WBC differential count and RBC morphology. RESULTS: Marked rise in respiratory symptoms (43% in urban vs 14% in rural) and sputum alveolar macrophage (AM) number was observed in urban children compared to their rural counterparts (14.2 +/- 1.4 AM/hpf vs 6.7 +/- 1.4 AM/hpf, mean +/- SE, P < 0.001). The urban group also demonstrated increased numbers of neutrophils, eosinophils and iron-laden AM in their sputum. Besides, buccal epithelial cells of urban children exhibited higher MN frequency than their rural counterparts (0.22 vs 0.17%, P < 0.05). While sputum neutrophilia and eosinophilia suggest inflammatory and allergic lung reactions, elevated MN count is indicative of greater genotoxic effect on the exposed tissues of urban children. Hypochromic red cells in peripheral blood smear was a common finding in both urban and rural groups, but eosinophils and monocytes were present in elevated frequencies in the rural children. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION: The study demonstrated that children inhaling grossly polluted air of Calcutta suffer from adverse lung reactions and genetic abnormality in the exposed tissues.