Interaction of ambient air pollution with asthma medication on exhaled nitric oxide among asthmatics

Zhengmin Qian, Hung Mo Lin, Vernon M. Chinchilli, Erik B. Lehman, Yinkang Duan, Timothy J. Craig, William E. Wilson, Duanping Liao, Stephen C. Lazarus, Rebecca Bascom

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

17 Scopus citations

Abstract

The interaction between ambient air pollution and asthma medication remains unclear. The authors compared airway inflammation response to air pollution among asthmatics. Increases of 10 ppb of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and of 10 μg/m3 of particulate matter < 10 micron in diameter (PM10) daily concentrations were associated with an increase in exhaled nitric oxide (eNO) of 0.13 ppb (95% confidence interval = 0.06, 0.19) and of 0.07 ppb (95% confidence interval = 0.02, 0.12), respectively, in models adjusted for important covariates. The results show that the medication could not counteract airway inflammation effects of air pollution. Specifically, the patients on triamcinolone decreased the sensitivity to PM10 but increased the sensitivity to O2. The patients on salmeterol were more vulnerable to both NO2 and PM10. This study indicates that the current pollution levels may still enhance airway inflammation among patients with persistent asthma even when they are on asthma medications.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)168-176
Number of pages9
JournalArchives of Environmental and Occupational Health
Volume64
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Oct 2009
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Air pollution
  • Asthma
  • Exhaled nitric oxide
  • Salmeterol
  • Triamcinolone

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