Air pollution and respiratory health of children: the PEACE panel study in Pisa, Italy

As part of the 'Pollution Effects on Asthmatic Children in Europe' (PEACE) study, 128 children from Italy (68 in the urban location Pisa, 60 in a control location, Torre del Lago Puccini), with chronic respiratory symptoms, were followed during 2 months in the winter of 1993-1994, to establish whether there was any association between lung function (peak expiratory flow (PEF)), acute respiratory symptoms and medication use, on the one hand, and air pollution, on the other. Daily means (maximum) were: particles with a 50% cut-off aerodynamic diameter of 10 ?m (PM10) 62 (131) and 70 (149) ?g.m-3, sulphur dioxide (SO2) 16 (30) and 8 (25) ?g.m-3; nitrogen dioxide (NO2): 68 (120) and 33 (75) ?g.m-3 in Pisa and Torre del Lago Puccini, respectively. No clear associations were found between PEF measurements, on the one hand, and air pollutants, on the other. Positive, but mostly nonsignificant associations were found between respiratory symptoms and air pollution. The conclusion is that changes in air pollution were not related to changes in the respiratory health of symptomatic children in Pisa and Torre del Lago Puccini.