Pulmonary Function and Incidence of Selected Respiratory Diseases Depending on the Exposure to Ambient PM(10)

It is essential in pulmonary disease research to take into account traffic-related air pollutant exposure among urban inhabitants. In our study, 4985 people were examined for spirometric parameters in the presented research which was conducted in the years 2008–2012. The research group was divided into urban and rural residents. Traffic density, traffic structure and velocity, as well as concentrations of selected air pollutants (CO, NO(2) and PM(10)) were measured at selected areas. Among people who live in the city, lower percentages of predicted values of spirometric parameters were noticed in comparison to residents of rural areas. Taking into account that the difference in the five-year mean concentration of PM(10) in the considered city and rural areas was over 17 μg/m(3), each increase of PM(10) by 10 μg/m(3) is associated with the decline in FEV(1) (forced expiratory volume during the first second of expiration) by 1.68%. These findings demonstrate that traffic-related air pollutants may have a significant influence on the decline of pulmonary function and the growing rate of respiratory diseases.