Air pollution and diseases of the respiratory tracts in pre-school children: A transfer function model

The purpose of the present statistical analysis was the assessment of the relation between time series of environmental factors and of frequencies of diseases of the respiratory system in pre-school children. During about one year, daily measurements of air pollutants and climatic variables were taken. During the same period of time two series of medical data were collected: (i) The daily relative number of pre-school children, exhibiting diseases of the respiratory tracts who either came to the outpatients' clinic of the children's hospital or were reported by paediatricians in Basle (ENTRIES). (ii) The daily relative frequency of symptoms of the respiratory tracts observed in a group of randomly selected pre-school children (SYMPTOMS).By means of transfer function models the relation between the two target variables and the 'explaining' variables was analysed. Several practical problems did arise: Choice of the appropriate transformation of the different series, interpretation of the crosscorrelation function using different methods of 'prewhitening', time splitting and nonstationarity of the crosscorrelation structure. In particular, it was found that after prewhitening the crosscorrelation function between the explanatory series SO2 and the response series SYMPTOMS changes with time. While during the 'winter period' an instantaneous relation between these two series (and to a lesser extent between NO2 and SYMPTOMS) was identified, no such relation was found for the other seasons

Small-scale spatial variability of particulate matter < 10 μm (PM10) and nitrogen dioxide

Epidemiological studies often rely only on data from a single monitoring station at a study site. However, significant small-scale spatial gradients for air pollutants are inevitable and one monitoring station cannot be representative for the entire population living in the study region. Small-scale spatial gradients (horizontally and vertically) of particulate matter < 10 micro-meter (PM10) and NO2 were examined along a roadside in Zurich during the winter and summer seasons (1994-1995). Horizontal and vertical concentration gradients for PM10 were about 13% (spatial coefficient of variation), and for NO2 about 15%. For PM10, the effect of season on the horizontal and vertical gradient was small. For NO2, the small-scale spatial gradients were highly influenced by season: during the spring-summer season, spatial gradients were much greater than during the autumn-winter season. This implies that future monitoring programmes, should include more monitoring sites for PM10 and, especially for NO2, the spring-summer season should include far more spatial resolution

Effects of long-term, self-monitored exercise on the serum lipoprotein and apolipoprotein profile in middle-aged men

To study the effects of long-term, self-monitored exercise on the serum lipid profile and body composition of middle-aged non-smoking males, a controlled study was conducted in 61 sedentary, middle-class Swiss men. Thirty-nine men were randomly allocated to jog 2 h/wk for 4 months on an individually prescribed, heart rate-controlled basis, whereas 22 men served as controls. Despite varying adherence to the exercise regimen, the following 4-month net changes (effect in exercise group minus effect in control group) in lipids were seen: HDL cholesterol (C) +0.12 mmol/l (95% CI 0.02, 0.22; P = 0.028), LDL-C +0.08 mmol/l (ns), VLDL-C -0.26 mmol/l (-0.45, -0.07; P = 0.009), total triglycerides (TT) -0.21 mmol/l (ns), HDL-C/total C +0.02 (0.001, 0.05; P = 0.047). The net changes in endurance capacity and resting heart rate in favour of exercisers were significant as well, whereas no significant changes in apolipoprotein levels were seen. Exploratory analyses revealed, for example, associations of the increase in total physical activity with an increase in the HDL-C/total C ratio (r = 0.46; P less than 0.001), and of the change in estimated body fat content with an opposed change in the HDL-C/total C ratio (r = -0.40; P less than 0.001), or an inverse relationship of the change in subcutaneous fat with a change in the HDL2-C level (r = -0.39; P less than 0.001). Multivariable regression analysis suggested that much of the effect of jogging on HDL-C was apparently mediated through a decrease in body fat content. A change in the waist/hip ratio was unrelated to lipoprotein changes but was related to the change of TT level (r = 0.22; P less than 0.05). This study confirms that individually prescribed, unsupervised jogging can increase HDL-C levels and improve the serum lipoprotein profile in self-selected nonsmoking males. Although the effect is modest, it may be relevant to preventive cardiology, given the evidence for a reduction in cardiovascular risk even after apparently small decreases in risk factor levels

Research on Mountains and Global Change

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