Effects of exposure to ambient air pollution on pulmonary function impairment in Korea: the 2007–2017 Korea National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the association between pulmonary function and air pollution using 2007–2017 data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a nationwide cross-sectional representative survey. METHODS: A total of 27,378 participants that had sampling weights from a complex sample survey were included in this study. Using the data for forced expiratory volume in 1 second and forced vital capacity, the participants with pulmonary function impairment were classified according to the criteria of restrictive lung disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Exposure to ambient air pollution was estimated using the Community Multiscale Air Quality model. Multivariate linear and logistic regression analyses with complex samples were used to determine the associations between pulmonary function and air pollution after adjusting for covariates. RESULTS: In total, 13.2% of the participants aged >40 years had COPD, and 10.7% were classified as being in the restrictive lung disease group. According to the multivariate logistic regression model, the odds ratios for the fourth quartiles of particulate matter less than 10 μm in diameter (PM(10)), particulate matter less than 2.5 μm in diameter (PM(2.5)) and carbon monoxide (CO) with a 2-year lag period were 1.203 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.036 to 1.396), 1.283 (95% CI, 1.101 to1.495), and 1.292 (95% CI, 1.110 to 1.504), respectively, using the restrictive lung disease group as an event after adjusting for covariates in the complex sample. CONCLUSIONS: Long-term exposure to PM(10), PM(2.5), and CO was significantly associated with pulmonary function, especially restrictive lung disease.