Air pollution tied to uncontrollable asthma

A strong association exists between long-term exposure to air pollution and uncontrolled asthma, new research indicates.

The study included 481 adults with asthma who provided details about their respiratory health between 2003 and 2007. The researchers compared this information with levels of three types of air pollution - ozone (O3), nitrous oxide (NO2) and particulate matter (PM10) - in the five cities in France where the participants lived.

About 44% of the participants had well-controlled asthma, 29% had partially controlled asthma and 27% had uncontrolled asthma. Women and older people were more likely to have uncontrolled asthma.

Controlling your asthma

There was a strong association between poorer asthma control and levels of ozone and particulate matter. The risk of uncontrolled asthma was 69% higher among those with long-term exposure to ozone and 35% higher for those with long-term exposure to particulate matter.

The study appears online in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

"Our results indicate that both ambient O3 and PM10 concentrations jeopardise asthma control in adults," the researchers concluded. "Our results are robust."

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