Living near a Major Road in Beijing: Association with Lower Lung Function, Airway Acidification, and Chronic Cough / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>The effects of near-road pollution on lung function in China have not been well studied. We aimed to investigate the effects of long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution on lung function, airway inflammation, and respiratory symptoms.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We enrolled 1003 residents aged 57.96 ± 8.99 years living in the Shichahai Community in Beijing. Distances between home addresses and the nearest major roads were measured to calculate home-road distance. We used the distance categories 1, 2, and 3, representing <100 m, 100-200 m, and >200 m, respectively, as the dose indicator for traffic-related air pollution exposure. Lung function, exhaled breath condensate (EBC) pH, and interleukin 6 levels were measured. As a follow-up, 398 participants had a second lung function assessment about 3 years later, and lung function decline was also examined as an outcome. We used regression analysis to assess the impacts of home-road distance on lung function and respiratory symptoms. As the EBC biomarker data were not normally distributed, we performed correlation analysis between home-road distance categories and EBC biomarkers.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Participants living a shorter distance from major roads had lower percentage of predicted value of forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1% -1.54, 95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.20 to -2.89). The odds ratio for chronic cough was 2.54 (95% CI: 1.57-4.10) for category 1 and 1.97 (95% CI: 1.16-3.37) for category 2, compared with category 3. EBC pH was positively correlated with road distance (rank correlation coefficient of Spearman [rs] = 0.176, P < 0.001).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution in people who live near major roads in Beijing is associated with lower lung function, airway acidification, and a higher prevalence of chronic cough. EBC pH is a potential useful biomarker for evaluating air pollution exposure.</p>

Effect of Inhaled Budesonide on Interleukin-4 and Interleukin-6 in Exhaled Breath Condensate of Asthmatic Patients / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Studies of interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-6 in the exhaled breath condensate (EBC) of asthmatic patients are limited. This study was to determine the effect of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) treatment on IL-4 and IL-6 in the EBC of asthmatic patients.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>In a prospective, open-label study, budesonide 200 μg twice daily by dry powder inhaler was administered to 23 adult patients with uncontrolled asthma (mean age 42.7 years) for 12 weeks. Changes in asthma scores, lung function parameters (forced expiratory volume in 1 s [FEV1], peak expiratory flow [PEF], forced expiratory flow at 50% of forced vital capacity [FEF50], forced expiratory flow at 75% of forced vital capacity, maximum mid-expiratory flow rate) and the concentrations of IL-4 and IL-6 in EBC were measured.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Both asthma scores and lung function parameters were significantly improved by ICS treatment. The mean IL-4 concentration in the EBC was decreased gradually, from 1.92 ± 0.56 pmol/L before treatment to 1.60 ± 0.36 pmol/L after 8 weeks of treatment (P < 0.05) and 1.54 ± 0.81 pmol/L after 12 weeks of treatment (P < 0.01). However, the IL-6 concentration was not significantly decreased. The change in the IL-4 concentration was correlated with improvements in mean FEV1, PEF and FEF50 values (correlation coefficients -0.468, -0.478, and -0.426, respectively).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The concentration of IL-4 in the EBC of asthmatic patients decreased gradually with ICS treatment. Measurement of IL-4 in EBC could be useful to monitor airway inflammation in asthmatics.</p>