Lung function reductions associated with motor vehicle density in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Motor vehicle-related air pollution can potentially impair lung function. The effect of pollution in people with compromised pulmonary function such as in COPD has not been previously investigated. To examine the association of lung function with motor vehicle density in people with spirometrically determined COPD in a cross-sectional study. METHODS: In 2004–06, The North West Adelaide Health Study (NWAHS), a biomedical cohort of adults assessed pre and post-bronchodilator spirometry (n = 3,103). Traffic density, obtained from the motor vehicle inventory maintained by the South Australian Environment Protection Authority, was expressed as the daily numbers of vehicles travelling within a 200 m diameter zone around participants’ geocoded residences. RESULTS: In subjects with COPD (FEV(1)/FVC <0.7, n = 221, 7.1 %), increasing daily vehicle density was associated with statistically significant decreases in lung function parameters after adjustment for smoking and socio-economic variables. Mean (95 % CI) post-bronchodilator % predicted FEV(1) was 81 % (76–87) in the low (≤7179/day) compared with 71 % (67–75) in the high (≥15,270/day) vehicle exposure group (p < 0.05). Linear regression analysis in all subjects with COPD showed significant decrements in post-bronchodilator FEV(1)/FVC ratio and % predicted FEV(1) of 0.03 and 0.05 % respectively per daily increase in 1000 vehicles. In men with COPD (n = 150), the corresponding reductions were 0.03 and 0.06 %. Smaller, non-significant decrements were seen in females. No difference was seen in those without COPD. CONCLUSIONS: Vehicle traffic density was associated with significant reductions in lung function in people with COPD. Urban planning should consider the health impacts for those with pre-existing respiratory conditions. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12931-016-0451-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

The impact of perioperative blood transfusion on survival and recurrence after radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective: Conflicting data have been reported regarding the association between perioperative blood transfusion (PBT) and clinical outcomes for prostate cancer patients. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the impact of PBT on cancer survival and recurrence for patients who underwent radical prostatectomy (RP). Methods: A systematic review of PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane libraries was performed to identify all eligible studies that evaluate the association between PBT and clinical outcomes for prostate cancer patients undergoing RP. The analyzed outcomes were overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) at 3, 5, and 10 years. Results: A total of eight articles met our criteria. Meta-analysis indicated that prostate cancer patients with PBT had decreased OS (hazard ratio [HR] =1.51, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.22–1.85, P < 0.01; HR = 1.57, 95% CI, 1.33–1.85, P < 0.01; HR = 1.55, 95% CI, 1.03–2.33, P = 0.04) and RFS (HR = 1.67, 95% CI, 1.37–2.04, P < 0.01; HR = 1.42, 95% CI, 1.23–1.63, P < 0.01; HR = 1.37, 95% CI, 1.03–1.83, P = 0.03) at 3, 5, and 10 years after surgery compared with those without PBT. Conclusions: The findings from the current meta-analysis demonstrate that PBT was associated with adverse survival and recurrence outcomes for prostate cancer patients undergoing RP