An Evaluation of the Impact of Air Pollution on the Lung Functions of High School Students Living in a Ceramic Industrial Park Zone

Santa Gertrudes (SG) and Rio Claro (RC), Sao Paulo, Brazil, are located in a ceramic industrial park zone, and their particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 10 µm (PM(10)) concentration levels has been among the highest in recently monitored cities in Brazil. Local PM(10) was mostly composed of silica. A cross-sectional study was designed to evaluate the lung functions of public high school students in SG, RC, and São Pedro (SP) (control location), Brazil, in 2018. The prevalence of asthma, mean PM(10,) FVC (forced vital capacity), and FEV(1) (forced expiratory volume in the first second) were compared between the locations, and regression analyses were performed. A total of 450 students were included (SG: 158, RC: 153, and SP: 139). The mean FVC% (SG: 95.0% ± 11.8%, RC: 98.8% ± 12.9%, SP: 102.4% ± 13.8%, p < 0.05), the mean FEV(1)% (SG: 95.7% ± 10.4%, RC: 99.7% ± 12.0%, SP: 103.2% ± 12.0%, p < 0.05) and the mean PM(10) (SG: 77.75 ± 38.08 µg/m(3), RC: 42.59 ± 23.46 µg/m(3), SP: 29.52 ± 9.87 µg/m(3), p < 0.01) differed between locations. In regression models, each increase in PM(10) by 10 µg/m(3) was associated with a decrease in FVC% by 1.10% (95% CI 0.55%–1.65%) and a decrease in FEV(1)% by 1.27% (95% CI 0.75%–1.79%). Exposure to high levels of silica-rich environmental PM(10) was found to be associated with lower FVC and FEV(1).