Atopy, air pollution and respiratory diseases in a Swiss normal population(SAPALDIA-Study)

The Swiss Study on Air Pollution and Lung Diseases in Adults (SAPALDIA) was carried out during 1991 - 1993 in eight Swiss areas with different environ mental characteristics. We report here the most important results of the cr oss-sectional examination which included 9,651 adults, aged 18 - 60 years, who all participated in a detailed interview. In 8,357 subjects complete al lergy skin and in-vitro tests were available in addition. The prevalence of atopic sensitization (positive skin prick test to any of the tested inhala nt allergens and/or a positive Phadiatop as an in-vitro screening test for atopy) was 32.3%, with a higher prevalence in males (35.7%) than in females (28.8%). Skin sensitization was predominantly caused by gras pollen (12.7% ), followed by house dust mite (8.9%), silver birch pollen (7.9%) and cat e pithelia (3.8%). 11.1% suffered from current hay fever, 6.8% from asthma, 4 .5% from atopic asthma, and 2.1% from chronic bronchitis, Persons living in mon polluted areas had significantly higher prevalences of dyspnea (+41% p er 10 mu g/m(3) increment in the average concentration of PM10), of symptom s of chronic bronchitis (+31% per 10 mu g/m(3) PM10) and, on average, lower FEV1 (-1.1% per 10 mu g/m(3) PM10) and FVC (-3.1% per 10 mu g/m(3) PM10). Never smokers with regular exposure to environmental tobacco smoke were mon likely to report wheezing (OR 1.94), dyspnea (OR 1.45), asthma (OR 1.39) a nd chronic bronchitis (OR 1.60) compared to non exposed never smokers, Smok ers had statistically significant (p < 0.001) higher mean serum IgE concent rations (geometric mean 39.7 kU/l) than nonsmokers (27.2 kU/l), In Phadiato p positive subjects, the IgE levels were highest, with a mean of 104.3 kU/l (99.0 - 109.8). This large epidemiologic study confirmed both, the high pr evalence of atopy and atopic diseases, and the health impact of moderate ai r pollution levels.