Effect of personal air pollution exposure on asthma control in children

<p>This study aimed to recruit asthmatic children and to assess whether it was feasible to reduce their air pollution exposure levels by intervening with advice to decrease exposure. The following steps had been taken to assess the aim: First, this study assessed the participants’ BC exposure data collected before and after the intervention. In particular, the assessments explored how children would react within a week and 5 weeks after receiving the intervention. Second, the study explored when and where the exposure reduction occurred. This was done by dividing each BC data into a set of four predetermined microenvironments, i.e. home, commute, school and other microenvironments. The purpose of the four microenvironments was to simplify and consolidate participants’ actions during each monitoring period, which would identify which microenvironment had achieved the most significant effects because of the intervention. Finally, the study assessed the participants’ time weighted exposure levels. This was done by calculating the participants’ exposure levels for each microenvironment weighted with the time spent in them. In addition to the main objective, the study has also explored other variables, included participants’ paediatric asthma quality of life, asthma control tests and their lung function, as well as their NO2 exposure levels before and after the intervention. Overall, there was a significant (p<0.05) reduction in participants’ BC exposure after the intervention. Questionnaires revealed the participants’ asthma control had significantly improved after the intervention and the analysis of their cotinine and urinary particle loading levels were also declined after the intervention. As such, the findings from this study confirm the main research aim, which argued that reduced exposure to air pollution in asthmatic children is achievable via increased awareness of the health impacts that air pollution can have on them and that mitigating personal exposure is achievable via simple behavioural changes. </p>