Lo studio PM-CARE : effetti dell’esposizione a particolato atmosferico urbano su parametri infiammatori in soggetti suscettibili e sani

Aim. To assess variation in haematological parameters among healthy subjects and subjects with cardiac or chronic lung disease in Summer and Winter surveys of the PM-CARE Study. Methods. Three groups of non-smoking adult subjects were recruited by two Italian hospitals: 34 with cardiovascular disease (heart group), 20 with chronic lung disease (COPD or asthma) (lung group) and 27 healthy subjects (healthy group). Each subject was investigated for one day during his/her habitual activities in Summer and Winter 2005/2006. Blood samples were collected at the end of 24-h protocol; inflammatory parameters consisted in complete blood cells count, sR-I-TNFα, sR-II-TNF-α, TNF-α, IL8, IL10. Environmental parameters included ultrafine, fine and coarse fractions of particulate matter, temperature and relative humidity. Linear mixed effects models for repeated measures data were applied. Results. Differences between Summer and Winter exposure data are always significant, showing higher values of all the PM fraction in Winter than in Summer. Lymphocytes number increases of 8,71% (p<0,05) in association with PM10 exposure in healthy group. Monocytes number increases of 7,9% (p<0,1) in association with PM10 exposure. Discussion and conclusions. Preliminary results indicate a pro-inflammatory condition in both healthy and heart group. A comprehensive evaluation will be possible in the next months, when the collection of results will be completed with the analysis of the other inflammatory parameters.