| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2019 | Volume
: 5
| Issue : 1 | Page : 42-45 |
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Effects of Ambient Air Pollution on Pulmonary Functions of Traffic Policemen
Tarun Kumar1, Manish Kumar1, Sunita2, Pooja Sakshi3, Ashok Sharan4
1 Additional Professor, Department of Physiology, IGIMS, Patna, India
2 Associate Professor, Department of Physiology, IGIMS, Patna, India
3 Assistant Professor, Department of Physiology, IGIMS, Patna, India
4 Professor & HOD, Department of Physiology, IGIMS, Patna, India
Correspondence Address:
Tarun Kumar
Additional Professor, Dept. of Physiology, IGIMS, Patna
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None
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Background: Air pollution is a major threat to human health. World Health Organization (WHO) estimated 4.2 million premature deaths due to ambient air pollution in 2016. It's a serious problem in metropolitan cities like Delhi, Patna and Gwalior in India. Average daily exposure of traffic policemen to dust particles and toxic gases from automobile exhaust exceeds about 8-10 hr/day.
Aims: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of ambient air pollution on pulmonary functions of the traffic policemen.
Materials & Methods: A cross-sectional study with 100 traffic policemen was conducted. The inclusion criteria were non- smoker males, aged between 25-50 years, working for last 1-5 years in the traffic department. The exclusion criteria were history of respiratory or cardiovascular disease or declined participation. Anthropometric measurements of the subjects were taken as per standard protocols, approved by the WHO. Pulmonary functions of the traffic policemen were assessed by determination of Forced vital capacity (FVC), Forced expiratory volume in 1st second (FEV1), FEV1/FVC%, Peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) and Forced expiratory flow during 25-75% of expiration (FEF25-75%) by using the nomogram of Indian settings with a computer based Spirometer, Spiro Excel manufactured by Medicaid Systems Pvt. Ltd. The association of percentage of predicted values of the pulmonary function parameters with the duration of exposure to air pollutants was analysed by using Pearson correlation.
Results: There were significant correlation between the duration of exposure to ambient air pollution and pulmonary function parameters FEV1(r=-.041), FEV1/FVC% (r=-.349), PEFR (r=-.027), & FEF25-75% (r=-.401) expressed as correlation-coefficient (rvalue).
Conclusion: The findings showed that prolonged exposure to ambient air pollution leads to a trend of development of obstructive features among traffic policemen.
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