Introduction
Materials and methods
Study population
Air pollution measurements
Respiratory health outcomes
Statistical analyses
Results
Description of population and prevalence of respiratory symptoms
n | (%) | |
---|---|---|
Population characteristics (n = 109) | ||
Sex (male) | 64 | (59.3) |
Age (years) | ||
[15–45] | 41 | (38.0) |
[45–65] | 58 | (53.7) |
> =65 | 9 | (8.3) |
Smoking status | ||
Curent smokers | 8 | (7.3) |
Former smokers | 32 | (29.4) |
Non-smokers | 69 | (63.3) |
Education level
| ||
< =High school | 74 | (67.9) |
> High school | 35 | (32.1) |
Lived on a farm as a child | 44 | (62.0) |
Worked in agricultural area before | 97 | (89.8) |
Farm characteristics | ||
Presence of pets | 84 | (77.1) |
Presence of mold, fungi | 6 | (5.5) |
Water infiltration in the dwelling last 12 months | 13 | (14.1) |
Humidity in the dwelling in the last 12 months | 27 | (29.4) |
Persistent condensation | 21 | (19.6) |
Farm near a heavy traffic area | 23 | (25.6) |
Month of visit | ||
February | 32 | (29.4) |
March | 35 | (32.1) |
April | 42 | (38.5) |
Symptoms | Total | Male | Female | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
N (%) | N (%) | N (%) | ||||
Morning cough in the past 12 months | 18 | (16.5) | 15 | 23,44% | 3 | 6,67% |
Phlegm in the past 12 months | 14 | (13.0) | 11 | 17,19% | 3 | 6,67% |
Short of breath in the past 12 months | 18 | (16.8) | 11 | 17,19% | 7 | 15,56% |
Difficulty of walking for another reason than heart or lung problems | 14 | (13.0) | 10 | 15,63% | 4 | 8,89% |
Wheezing in the past 12 months in the past 12 months | 12 | (11.0) | 9 | 14,06% | 3 | 6,67% |
Short of breath at rest last 12 months | 6 | (5.6) | 4 | 6,25% | 2 | 4,44% |
Short of breath after intense effort last 12 months | 20 | (18.4) | 13 | 20,31% | 7 | 15,56% |
Woken by an attack of shortness of breath in the past 12 months | 3 | (2.8) | 3 | 4,69% | 0 | 0,00% |
Asthma | 10 | (9.3) | 6 | 9,38% | 4 | 8,89% |
Nasal allergy | 9 | (8.3) | 7 | 10,94% | 2 | 4,44% |
Respiratory distress when handling plants reaped | 48 | (44.0) | 29 | 45,31% | 19 | 42,22% |
Severe respiratory problems interfered with usual daily activities | 7 | (6.4) | 5 | 7,81% | 2 | 4,44% |
Chronic illness* | 19 | (39.6) | 14 | 21,88% | 5 | 11,11% |
Early Airways Obstruction* | 14 | (29.8) | 9 | 14,06% | 5 | 11,11% |
Description of air quality in the farms (dwellings, stables and granaries)
VOC distribution
VOCs (μg/m3) | LOD (μg/m3) | LOQ (μg/m3) | % <LOD | % [LOD, LOQ] | % <LOD | % [LOD, LOQ] | % <LOD | % [LOD, LOQ] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Living Room | Stable | Granary | ||||||
Acetaldehyde | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Acrolein | 0.1 | 0.3 | 33.3 | 0.0 | 93.9 | 0.0 | 95.5 | 0.0 |
Formaldehyde | 0.6 | 1.1 | 0.0 | 3.9 | 24.2 | 42.4 | 18.2 | 31.8 |
Benzene | 0.4 | 1.1 | 0.0 | 42.0 | 0.0 | 39.4 | 0.0 | 36.8 |
1,4-Dichlorobenzene | 0.07 | 0.2 | 27.3 | 22.0 | 90.9 | 6.1 | 79.0 | 15.8 |
Etylbenzene | 0.3 | 0.9 | 9.1 | 23.6 | 51.5 | 33.3 | 15.8 | 47.4 |
n-Decane | 0.07 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
n-Undecane | 0.5 | 1.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Styrene | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 7.3 | 0.0 | 51.5 | 0.0 | 31.6 |
Tetrachloroethylene | 0.4 | 1.2 | 98.2 | 1.8 | 100 | 0.0 | 100 | 0.0 |
Toluene | 0.4 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 7.3 | 0.0 | 48.5 | 0.0 | 21.5 |
Trichloroethylene | 0.4 | 1.0 | 94.6 | 1.8 | 97.0 | 3.0 | 94.7 | 0.0 |
1, 2,4-Trimethylbenzene | 0.03 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
m/p-Xylene | 0.5 | 1.5 | 10.9 | 14.6 | 54.6 | 24.2 | 15.8 | 31.6 |
o-Xylene | 0.2 | 0.6 | 6.0 | 20.0 | 33.3 | 48.5 | 15.8 | 31.6 |
2-Butoxyethanol | 0.4 | 1.5 | 43.6 | 38.2 | 87.9 | 6.1 | 84.2 | 15.8 |
2-Butoxyetylacetate | 0.3 | 1.0 | 80.0 | 18.2 | 84.9 | 15.1 | 100 | 0.0 |
1-Metoxy-2-Propanol | 0.5 | 1.8 | 52.7 | 34.6 | 97.0 | 3.0 | 84.2 | 5.3 |
1-Metoxy-2-propylacetate | 0.7 | 2.2 | 90.9 | 9.1 | 100 | 0.0 | 89.5 | 10.5 |
VOCsa | Place | Mean (μg/m3) | Min (μg/m3) | Median (μg/m3) | 3rd quartile (μg/m3) | Max (μg/m3) |
Acetaldehyde | L | 18.60 | 1.53 | 16.64 | 23.76 | 66.70 |
S | 10.83 | 0.33 | 5.86 | 14.47 | 62.85 | |
G | 14.95 | 1.26 | 8.97 | 18.97 | 74.28 | |
Acrolein | L | 0.66 | 0.00 | 0.51 | 0.77 | 3.80 |
S | 0.07 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1.63 | |
G | 0.08 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1.26 | |
Formaldehyde | L | 15.01 | 0.39 | 13.04 | 19.32 | 59.52 |
S | 2.53 | 0.25 | 0.83 | 1.24 | 22.16 | |
G | 3.04 | 0.26 | 1.18 | 2.27 | 24.15 | |
Benzene | L | 1.54 | 0.52 | 1.17 | 1.92 | 4.86 |
S | 1.29 | 0.62 | 1.12 | 1.52 | 2.66 | |
G | 1.72 | 0.77 | 1.17 | 1.62 | 10.56 | |
1,4-Dichlorobenzene | L | 2.80 | 0.00 | 0.19 | 3.16 | 43.94 |
S | 0.09 | 0.00 | 0.03 | 0.06 | 1.26 | |
G | 0.13 | 0.00 | 0.06 | 0.13 | 1.64 | |
Etylbenzene | L | 3.76 | 0.14 | 1.55 | 5.12 | 25.11 |
S | 0.77 | 0.14 | 0.25 | 0.43 | 6.47 | |
G | 1.34 | 0.14 | 0.74 | 1.82 | 5.66 | |
n-Decane | L | 35.39 | 2.26 | 14.66 | 38.26 | 252.89 |
S | 10.59 | 2.20 | 5.03 | 6.84 | 96.93 | |
G | 10.34 | 2.95 | 8.99 | 12.41 | 30.73 | |
n-Undecane | L | 42.35 | 3.51 | 24.34 | 47.03 | 248.53 |
S | 14.58 | 1.66 | 8.02 | 10.80 | 132.33 | |
G | 12.47 | 1.89 | 9.88 | 16.59 | 33.60 | |
Styrene | L | 0.90 | 0.14 | 0.70 | 1.11 | 3.93 |
S | 0.39 | 0.14 | 0.29 | 0.39 | 1.32 | |
G | 0.72 | 0.14 | 0.55 | 0.91 | 2.29 | |
Tetrachloroethylene | L | 0.08 | 0.00 | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.55 |
S | 0.07 | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.16 | |
G | 0.09 | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.11 | 0.22 | |
Air Pollutant | Place | Mean | Min | Median | 3rd quartile | Max |
Toluene | L | 12.09 | 0.45 | 6.10 | 13.41 | 105.82 |
S | 2.13 | 0.45 | 1.30 | 2.16 | 11.19 | |
G | 5.89 | 0.54 | 3.23 | 5.26 | 28.64 | |
Trichloroethylene | L | 0.10 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2.05 |
S | 0.03 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.72 | |
G | 0.28 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.23 | |
1, 2,4-Trimethylbenzene | L | 25.16 | 0.89 | 8.43 | 20.04 | 172.69 |
S | 4.78 | 0.57 | 1.24 | 2.25 | 58.73 | |
G | 6.88 | 0.76 | 4.19 | 9.07 | 24.10 | |
m/p-Xylene | L | 11.24 | 0.26 | 3.76 | 13.94 | 81.82 |
S | 2.24 | 0.16 | 0.47 | 0.89 | 29.19 | |
G | 3.69 | 0.16 | 1.83 | 4.96 | 17.34 | |
o-Xylene | L | 4.82 | 0.17 | 1.69 | 5.31 | 30.77 |
S | 1.12 | 0.11 | 0.28 | 0.40 | 15.47 | |
G | 1.53 | 0.11 | 0.79 | 2.09 | 6.44 | |
2-Butoxyethanol | L | 2.00 | 0.00 | 0.43 | 1.07 | 87.20 |
S | 0.27 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.07 | 3.94 | |
G | 0.18 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.50 | 0.72 | |
2-Butoxyetylacetate | L | 0.14 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.27 | 1.08 |
S | 0.09 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.18 | 0.72 | |
G | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | |
1-Metoxy-2-Propanol | L | 1.33 | 0.00 | 0.42 | 0.84 | 13.68 |
S | 0.05 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.68 | |
G | 0.54 | 0.00 | 0.10 | 1.36 | 2.04 | |
1-Metoxy-2-propylacetate | L | 0.19 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2.02 |
S | 0.02 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.59 | |
G | 0.15 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.98 | |
Global VOCs score | 1 | 5 | 7 | 13 |
PM distribution
Air Pollutants | Place | Mean | Min | Median | 3rd quartile | Max |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UFPM (pt/cm3) | L | 19298.0 | 631 | 10478.0 | 19390 | 148466 |
BR | 17534.1 | 262 | 4928.0 | 18300 | 229300 | |
G/S | 7066.8 | 725 | 3529.0 | 7385 | 41920 | |
PM1 (μg/m3) | L | 0.9 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 17 |
BR | 1.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 8 | |
G | 0.8 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 12 | |
PM2.5 (μg/m3) | L | 4.0 | 1 | 2.0 | 4 | 40 |
BR | 4.5 | 0 | 1.0 | 3 | 46 | |
G/S | 13.3 | 0 | 2.5 | 8 | 327 | |
PM10 (μg/m3) | L | 30.7 | 10 | 25.0 | 32 | 159 |
BR | 26.4 | 0 | 16.0 | 28 | 159 | |
G | 259.6 | 1 | 69.5 | 167 | 5733 | |
TSP (μg/m3) | L | 48.4 | 13 | 37.0 | 55 | 208 |
BR | 46.3 | 0 | 26.0 | 42 | 452 | |
G/S | 361.8 | 1 | 156.5 | 334 | 5561 |
Relationships of air pollution to respiratory health
Air pollution in the whole farm
VOCs | Asthma | Early Airways Obstruction | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Crude OR (95% CI) | Adjusted OR (95% CI) | Crude OR (95% CI)** | Adjusted OR (95% CI)** | |||||
Acetaldehyde | 0.34 | 0.04–2.71 | – | – | 1.59 | 0.37–6.83 | 2.68 | 0.33–22.00 |
Acrolein | 0.37 | 0.05–3.04 | 0.14 | 0.03–0.75 | 1.48 | 0.23–9.47 | 1.99 | 0.19–21.11 |
Formaldehyde | 0.31 | 0.04–2.51 | 0.31 | 0.04–2.51 | 2.48 | 0.49–12.65 | 1.88 | 0.28–12.50 |
Benzene | 2.45 | 0.67–8.96 | 4.11 | 0.91–18.5 | 2.08 | 0.41–10.60 | 1.37 | 0.19–9.72 |
1,4-Dichlorobenzene | 3.00 | 0.91–9.93 | 5.62 | 0.83–37.91 | 0.68 | 0.12–3.86 | 0.98 | 0.15–6.45 |
Etylbenzene | 0.75 | 0.15–3.72 | 0.40 | 0.08–1.90 | 0.85 | 0.15–4.95 | 1.01 | 0.14–7.19 |
n-Decane | 1.06 | 0.27–4.17 | 1.03 | 0.25–4.17 | 0.63 | 0.11–3.58 | 1.87 | 0.18–19.40 |
n-Undecane | 1.28 | 0.35–4.65 | 2.43 | 0.56–10.19 | 0.28 | 0.03–2.58 | 0.41 | 0.02–9.10 |
Styrene | 0.33 | 0.041–2.69 | – | – | 3.56 | 0.81–15.66 | 8.86 | 0.65–119.99 |
Tetrachloroethylene | 1.56 | 0.42–5.89 | 1.40 | 0.38–5.08 | 1.49 | 0.30–7.33 | 7.78 | 0.59–102.53 |
Toluene | 0.57 | 0.12–2.86 | 0.37 | 0.07–1.97 | 1.40 | 0.29–6.85 | 2.43 | 0.42–14.14 |
Trichloroethylene | 1.60 | 0.35–7.46 | 3.20 | 0.59–17.21 | – | – | – | – |
1, 2,4-Trimethylbenzene | 0.34 | 0.04–2.78 | 0.41 | 0.09–1.91 | 0.82 | 0.14–4.81 | 1.08 | 0.09–12.36 |
m/p-Xylene | 0.75 | 0.15–3.72 | 0.36 | 0.08–1.72 | 0.85 | 0.15–4.95 | 1.01 | 0.14–7.19 |
o-Xylene | 0.75 | 0.15–3.72 | – | – | 0.85 | 0.15–4.95 | 1.01 | 0.14–7.19 |
2-Butoxyethanol | 1.27 | 0.33–4.81 | 0.75 | 0.19–2.92 | 3.62 | 0.81–16.12 | 6.48 | 0.59–71.33 |
2-Butoxyetylacetate | 0.53 | 0.11–2.48 | 0.26 | 0.06–1.26 |
10.2
|
2.14–48.84
|
11.49
|
1.55–85.37
|
1-Metoxy-2-Propanol | 0.28 | 0.03–2.45 | 0.44 | 0.05–4.28 | 0.76 | 0.17–3.45 | 1.44 | 0.22–9.41 |
1-Metoxy-2-propylacetate | 0.26 | 0.03–2.20 | 0.28 | 0.03–2.92 | 1.50 | 0.35–6.46 | 2.17 | 0.41–11.47 |
Halogenated hydrocarbons score | 1.63 | 0.83–3.2 |
2.02
|
1.00–4.10
| 0.68 | 0.29–1.63 | 0.92 | 0.38–2.25 |
Glycolether score | 0.69 | 0.39–1.22 | 0.60 | 0.33–1.12 | 1.58 | 0.94–2.66 | 1.86 | 0.93–3.69 |
Aromatic hydrocarbons | 0.92 | 0.65–1.30 | 0.86 | 0.63–1.18 | 1.07 | 0.79–1.46 | 1.15 | 0.82–1.62 |
Aliphatic hydrocarbons | 1.09 | 0.55–2.16 | 1.31 | 0.64–2.69 | 0.63 | 0.23–1.70 | 0.95 | 0.25–3.56 |
Aldehydes | 0.45 | 0.11–1.37 | 0.23 | 0.06–0.78 | 1.63 | 0.73–3.68 | 1.69 | 0.59–4.80 |
Air pollution in the dwellings
Air pollution in the workplaces (granary/stable)
PM | Asthma | Early Airways Obstruction | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
cORa (95% CI)b | aOR† (95% CI) | cOR (95% CI) | aOR† (95% CI) | |||||
Average Particles number (pt/cm3) | 2.48 | 0.68–8.97 | 2.43 | 0.50–11.80 | 1.65 | (0.33–8.39) | 1.85 | (0.32–10.59) |
PM1 (μg/m3) | 0.63 | 0.14–2.91 | 1.07 | 0.19–5.84 | 0.56 | (0.13–2.52) | 0.50 | (0.08–3.04) |
PM2.5 (μg/m3) | 0.29 | 0.04–2.42 | 0.30 | 0.05–1.69 |
5.31
|
(1.25–22.65)
|
5.26
|
(1.09–25.28)
|
PM10 (μg/m3) | 1.28 | 0.34–4.79 | 2.20 | 0.38–12.55 | 1.32 | (0.31–5.58) | 1.10 | (0.22–5.42) |
TSP (μg/m3) | 0.88 | 0.22–3.54 | 1.59 | 0.27–9.21 | 1.67 | (0.39–7.13) | 0.97 | (0.15–6.44) |