Air pollution in COPD: analysis of inflammatory markers, mucociliary transportability and quality of life

Abstract

The effects of air pollution on human health are often discussed. Studies conducted in developing countries have shown the adverse effects that air pollution can exert on population health. Such effects may be even higher in specific populations such as elderly patients and chronic pulmonary diseases. However, most studies that discuss the issue of air pollution and health are developed in large urban centers, where the emission sources of air pollutants differ from those of smaller regions. Objectives: The aim of this study is to assess the relationship between atmospheric pollution and mucociliary transportability, inflammatory mediators, mutagenicity, lung function and quality of life of individuals with COPD. Methods: The study will be conducted from March to November 2013. The volunteers will be divided into three groups: treatment group (elderly with COPD who perform physiotherapy), the untreated group (elderly with COPD who do not perform physiotherapy) and control group (healthy elderly). The volunteers will be assessed in four occasions: in March, July, September and November. In each period of analysis the volunteers will be assessed by lung function, mucociliary transportability, pulmonary and systemic inflammatory markers, mutagenicity, quality of life questionnaire specific and general and respiratory symptoms. During the period of study, the air pollution will be determined by active and passive sampling. Statistical analysis: Descriptive statistical analysis will be used for clinical characterization of subjects studied, and the data distribution will be assessed by the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. If confirmed, the data normality will be performed in analysis of variance for repeated measures followed by Tukey test. If not checked, the data normality will be applied to the Friedman test followed by Dunn's test. The comparison between the control groups, treated and untreated, for all variables will be evaluated using the unpaired t test or Mann-Whitney test, depending on data distribution. The significance level is 5%. (AU)