Ambient air pollution was associated with lower lung function and increased COPD prevalence in this large study. - GreenMedInfo Summary

Ambient air pollution increases the risk of respiratory mortality but evidence for impacts on lung function and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is less well established. The aim was to evaluate whether ambient air pollution is associated with lung function and COPD, and explore potential vulnerability factors.We used UK Biobank data on 3 03 887 individuals aged 40-69 years, with complete covariate data and valid lung function measures. Cross-sectional analyses examined associations of Land Use Regression-based estimates of particulate matter (PM, PMand PM) and nitrogen dioxide (NO) concentrations with forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV), forced vital capacity (FVC), the FEV/FVC ratio, and COPD (FEV/FVC