2005 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
The assessment of the effects of motor-vehicle exhaust gas on the respiratory symptoms of children, through a large-scale long-term longitudinal survey
| Project/Area Number |
16590524
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Public health/Health science
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| Research Institution | Kinki University |
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Principal Investigator |
YURA Akiko Kinki University, School of Medicine, Research Assistant, 医学部, 助手 (80142595)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
SHIMIZU Tadahiko Kinki University, Emeritus Professor, 医学部, 名誉教授 (00088519)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2004 – 2005
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| Keywords | Cough / Prevalence rate / School children / Nitrogen dioxide / Motor-vehicle exhaust gas / Air pollution / Climate |
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| Research Abstract |
A total of 15 questionnaire surveys on subjective symptoms have been conducted on all public elementary-school children in Osaka Prefecture at 2- or 3-year intervals between 1973 and 2003. The prevalence rate of "coughing" among children has remained at the same level, approximately 10%, since 1983. A significant inverse correlation was observed between the prevalence rate of "coughing"(surveyed in October) and the mean temperature in July and August of the relevant year. It is supposed that the summer climate had an effect on the prevalence rate of "coughing." In the logistic regression analysis of the individual questionnaire data obtained from some sampled schools, the odds ratios of "residents along heavy-traffic roads" to "coughing" were 1.37〜1.70 (p<0.001) for every survey. Also, a significant correlation was observed between the prevalence rate of "coughing" and the percentage of "residents along heavy-traffic roads". Since there is a strong correlation between the percentage of "residents along heavy-traffic roads" and the atmospheric nitrogen dioxide (NO_2) concentration, it was considered that the percentage was available as the index of motor-vehicle exhaust gas pollution. The percentage of "residents along heavy-traffic roads" and the NO_2 levels in Osaka Prefecture had decreased slightly since 1995. Then, it was suggested that the prevalence rate of "coughing" among children had decreased due to the decline in the NO_2 levels. In addition, the lower limits of the NO_2 levels which have an effect on the "coughing" symptoms of children were estimated to be 0.022〜0.024 ppm in terms of the annual mean value.
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