Air pollution and nasal mucociliary clearance time among urban and rural residents in two Philippine communities

ABSTRACT

Objective@#To measure the nasal mucociliary clearance (NMC) time among adults residing in two Philippine communities with different air quality indices using the saccharin and methylene blue test. @*Methods@#Design: Cross-Sectional Study. Setting: Diliman, Quezon City and Puerto Princesa, Palawan. Participantss: Fifty (50) participants, 25 residing in an urban city with fair air quality index and 25 residing in a rural province with good air quality index. @*Results@#The mean NMC time of the urban group was 22.15±12.68 mins and was significantly longer than the NMC time of the rural group which was 5.29±2.87mins; t(48) = 6.643, p<0.0001). @*Conclusion@#Increased air pollution may be associated with significant prolongation of nasal mucociliary clearance time among urban residents with fair quality air index compared to rural residents with good quality air index.