Air Pollution and Health of COPD Patients

Effect of Air Pollution on Prognosis of Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Its Underlying Biological Mechanism

This panel study aims to evaluate the effects of air pollutants on cardiopulmonary health of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and explore the potential biological mechanisms.

This panel study was conducted in a group of stable patients with COPD in Beijing, China. The health measurements including lung function, blood pressure and airway inflammation were conducted, and morning urine, exhaled breath condensate, saliva and venous blood were collected at the time of enrollment and at 3, 6 and 9 months after enrollment. Individual exposures to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), black carbon (BC), ozone (O3) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) were performed for 24 hours at each follow-up. And the daily concentrations of air pollutants were collected from the Beijing Air Quality Real-time Publishing Platform and meteorological data were collected from the National Meteorological Information Center. The linear mixed effects model was used to analyze the association between air pollution and cardiopulmonary health in patients with COPD.

Inclusion Criteria:

• doctor-diagnosed stable COPD patients
• aged 40 to 80 years
• lived in Beijing for over one year before being recruited
• Agree to participate and sign the informed consent form.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients with a history of acute exacerbation in the last 1 month
• Patients with other respiratory diseases such as bronchiectasis and asthma.