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Title: | Subclinical responses in healthy cyclists briefly exposed to traffic-related air pollution: an intervention study | Authors: | Jacobs, Lotte NAWROT, Tim de Geus, Bas Meeusen, Romain Degraeuwe, Bart Bernard, Alfred Sughis, Muhammad Nemery, Benoit INT PANIS, Luc |
Issue Date: | 2010 | Publisher: | BIOMED CENTRAL LTD | Source: | ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH, 9 | Abstract: | Background: Numerous epidemiological studies have demonstrated adverse health effects of a sedentary life style, on the one hand, and of acute and chronic exposure to traffic-related air pollution, on the other. Because physical exercise augments the amount of inhaled pollutants, it is not clear whether cycling to work in a polluted urban environment should be encouraged or not. To address this conundrum we investigated if a bicycle journey along a busy commuting road would induce changes in biomarkers of pulmonary and systematic inflammation in a group of healthy subjects. Methods: 38 volunteers (mean age: 43 +/- 8.6 years, 26% women) cycled for about 20 minutes in real traffic near a major bypass road (road test; mean UFP exposure: 28,867 particles per cm(3)) in Antwerp and in a laboratory with filtered air (clean room; mean UFP exposure: 496 particles per cm(3)). The exercise intensity (heart rate) and duration of cycling were similar for each volunteer in both experiments. Exhaled nitric oxide (NO), plasma interleukin-6 (IL-6), platelet function, Clara cell protein in serum and blood cell counts were measured before and 30 minutes after exercise. Results: Percentage of blood neutrophils increased significantly more (p = 0.004) after exercise in the road test (3.9%; 95% CI: 1.5 to 6.2%; p = 0.003) than after exercise in the clean room (0.2%; 95% CI: -1.8 to 2.2%, p = 0.83). The pre/post-cycling changes in exhaled NO, plasma IL-6, platelet function, serum levels of Clara cell protein and number of total blood leukocytes did not differ significantly between the two scenarios. Conclusions: Traffic-related exposure to particles during exercise caused a small increase in the distribution of inflammatory blood cells in healthy subjects. The health significance of this isolated change is unclear. | Notes: | [Jacobs, Lotte; Nawrot, Tim S.; Sughis, Muhammad; Nemery, Benoit] KULeuven, Unit Lung Toxicol, B-3000 Louvain, Belgium. [Nawrot, Tim S.] Hasselt Univ, Ctr Environm Sci, B-3590 Diepenbeek, Belgium. [de Geus, Bas; Meeusen, Romain] Vrije Univ Brussel, Dept Human Physiol & Sports Med, Fac Phys Educ & Physiotherapy, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium. [Degraeuwe, Bart; Panis, Luc Int] Flemish Inst Technol Res, Mol, Belgium. [Bernard, Alfred] Catholic Univ Louvain, Dept Publ Hlth, B-3000 Louvain, Belgium. [Panis, Luc Int] Hasselt Univ, Transportat Res Inst, Diepenbeek, Belgium. | Document URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/1942/11434 | e-ISSN: | 1476-069X | DOI: | 10.1186/1476-069X-9-64 | ISI #: | 000284230100001 | Category: | A1 | Type: | Journal Contribution | Validations: | ecoom 2011 |
Appears in Collections: | Research publications |
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