Short-Term Exposure to Haze Air Pollution Induces Acute Airway Inflammation and Lung Function Reduction in Healthy Adult Subjects

Haze air pollution with high levels of PM has frequently took place in many areas of China in the past few years. However, the health effect of shirt-term exposure to haze air pollution has not been thoroughly characterized. This study aimed to determine the acute effect of haze exposure on respiratory system of healthy adult subjects, specifically on airways and lung function. Thirty healthy adult subjects were recruited and airway inflammation and lung function alterations examined under control and haze air pollution (157.33 μg/m for mean concentration of PM ) conditions, respectively. Airway inflammation was assessed by sputum induction while lung function was measured using spirometry. It was shown that 24-h exposure to haze air pollution could increase the levels of inflammatory mediators including interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-8, and tumor necrotic factor-α (TNF-α), as well as the percentages of eosinophils, neutrophils, and lymphocytes in the sputum (<0.05). In contrast, the proportion of macrophages in the sputum from haze-exposed subjects decreased significantly (<0.05). In addition, short-term exposure to haze could decrease forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV ), vital capacity (VC), and maximum voluntary ventilation (MVV), but not FEV1/FVC. In summary, short-term exposure of healthy adult subjects to haze air pollution induces airway inflammation and lung function impairment.