Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 2014 October, 234(2)

Smoking Aggravates the Impaired Pulmonary Function of Officially Acknowledged Female Victims of Air Pollution of 40 Years Ago

TSUYOSHI NISHINAKAGAWA,¹ HIDEAKI SENJYU,¹ TAKAKO TANAKA,¹ MASAHARU ASAI,¹ KENJI KOTAKI,¹ YUDAI YANO,¹ NAOMI MIYAMOTO,² YORIHIDE YANAGITA,³ RYO KOZU,⁴ MITSURU TABUSADANI⁵ and SUMIHISA HONDA¹

¹Department of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Science, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Japan
²Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Health Science, Kio University, Kitakatsuragi-gun, Nara, Japan
³Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Seirei Mikatahara General Hospital, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan
⁴Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Nagasaki University Hospital, Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Japan
⁵Center for Industry, University and Government Cooperation, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Japan

Air pollution due to industrial waste and tobacco smoke is detrimental to pulmonary function. However, the combined effects of air pollution and smoking on pulmonary function have not been investigated. We examined the combined effect of air pollution of 40 years ago and concurrent smoking on the pulmonary function of officially acknowledged female victims in Japan, because females are more susceptible to the adverse effects of both irritants than males. The subjects comprised 655 female victims living in one of two areas with air pollution of 40 years ago and 572 females living in an area without air pollution. All victims have been prescribed standard respiratory medications. Pulmonary function was measured in 2000 for air-pollution groups (130 smokers and 525 non-smokers; mean age, 68.4 years) and during the period of 2004 to 2013 for non-air-pollution groups (113 smokers and 459 non-smokers; mean age, 69.0 years). The smokers included both current smokers and ex-smokers. The victims with a history of smoking had significantly lower forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV₁ % predicted) (mean, 74%) and significantly lower FEV₁/forced vital capacity (FVC) (mean, 70%) than the other groups (P < 0.001). Thus, smoking aggravates the pulmonary function in officially acknowledged female victims, despite the improved air pollution and the continuous medical care provided by the government. In conclusion, exposure to air pollution of 40 years ago and cigarette smoking are associated with reduced pulmonary function. These results highlight the importance of measures aimed at smoking cessation and limiting air pollution.

keywords —— air pollution; female; officially acknowledged victims of pollution-related illness; pulmonary function; smoking

© 2014 Tohoku University Medical Press

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Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 2014, 234, 151-160

Correspondence: Hideaki Senjyu, Department of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Science, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 1-7-1 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, Nagasaki 852-8520, Japan.

e-mail: senjyu@nagasaki-u.ac.jp