Author(s)

S. Bose¹, N. N. Hansel¹, E. S. Tonorezos², D. L. Williams³, A. Bilderback¹, P. N. Breysse³, G. B. Diette¹, Meredith C. McCormack^1*

¹Johns Hopkins University Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Baltimore, USA.
²Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center New York, New York, USA.
³Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, USA.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic disease characterized by progressive airflow obstruction, along with pulmonary and systemic inflammation. Outdoor PM has been associated with morbidity and mortality in COPD but less is known about effects of indoor air quality. In former smokers with COPD, we investigated in-home PM effects on pulmonary and systemic inflammation, symptoms, and lung function. Participants underwent in-home air monitoring for two weeks and simultaneous health assessments. Median (IQR) PM_2.5 was 9 (7) μg/m³. Increased indoor PM_2.5 was associated with increased white blood cells, predominantly neutrophils and lymphocytes, suggesting that even relatively low indoor PM_2.5 may elicit a systemic inflammatory response in COPD.

Particulate Matter, Indoor Pollution, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

Bose, S. , Hansel, N. , Tonorezos, E. , Williams, D. , Bilderback, A. , Breysse, P. , Diette, G. and McCormack, M. (2015) Indoor Particulate Matter Associated with Systemic Inflammation in COPD. Journal of Environmental Protection, 6, 566-572. doi: 10.4236/jep.2015.65051.