Black Carbon Reduces the Beneficial Effect of Physical Activity on Lung Function

Introduction When physical activity is promoted in urban outdoor settings (e.g. walking and cycling), individuals are also exposed to air pollution. It has been reported that short-term lung function increases as a response to physical activity, but this beneficial effect is hampered when elevated air pollution concentrations are observed. Our study assessed the long-term impact of air pollution on the pulmonary health benefit of physical activity. Methods Wearable sensors were used to monitor physical activity levels (SenseWear) and exposure to black carbon (microAeth) of 115 healthy adults during one week in three European cities (Antwerp, Barcelona, London). The experiment was repeated in three different seasons to approximate long-term behavior. Spirometry tests were performed at the beginning and end of each measurement week. All results were averaged on a participant level as a proxy for long-term lung function. Mixed effect regression models were used to analyze the long-term impact of physical activity, black carbon and their interaction on lung function parameters FEV1, FVC, FEV1/FVC, FEF25-75 and PEF. Interaction plots were used to interpret the significant interaction effects. Results Negative interaction effects of physical activity and black carbon exposure on FEV1 (p=0.07), FEV1/FVC (p=0.03) and FEF25-75 (p=0.03) were observed. For black carbon concentrations up to approximately 1 μg/m3, an additional METhour per week resulted in a trend towards lung function increases (FEV1, FEV1/FVC and FEF25-75 increased 5.6 mL, 0.1% and 14.5 mL/s, respectively). Conclusion We found that lung function improved with physical activity at low black carbon levels. This beneficial effect decreased in higher air pollution concentrations. Our results suggest a greater need to reduce air pollution exposures during physical activity. Correspondence to: Prof dr Luc Int Panis, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Boeretang 200, 2400 Mol, Belgium, e-mail: luc.intpanis@vito.be This research received funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Program to the PASTA project under grant agreement No. 602624 (FP7-HEALTH-2013-INNOVATION-1) (Physical Activity through Sustainable Transport Approaches). Duration 1 November 2013 to 31 October 2017. Michelle Laeremans is supported by a VITO PhD scholarship. Evi Dons is supported by a postdoctoral scholarship from FWO-Research Foundation Flanders. Juan Pablo Orjuela-Mendoza received a beneficiary grant from Colciencias (Administrative Department of Science, Technology and Innovation of the Colombian Government) (grant number 646). All authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest and that the results of the study are presented clearly, honestly, and without fabrication, falsification, or inappropriate data manipulation. The results of the present study do not constitute endorsement by ACSM. © 2018 American College of Sports Medicine

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