Environmental and Occupational Short-Term Exposure to Airborne Particles and FEV and FVC in Healthy Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: No study has compared the respiratory effects of environmental and occupational particulate exposure in healthy adults.

Methods: We estimated, by a systematic review and meta-analysis, the associations between short term exposures to fine particles (PM and PM) and certain parameters of lung function (FEV and FVC) in healthy adults.

Results: In total, 33 and 14 studies were included in the qualitative synthesis and meta-analyses, respectively. In environmental studies, a 10 µg/m increase in PM was associated with an FEV reduction of 7.63 mL (95% CI: -10.62 to -4.63 mL). In occupational studies, an increase of 10 µg/m in PM was associated with an FEV reduction of 0.87 mL (95% CI: -1.36 to -0.37 mL). Similar results were observed with FVC.

Conclusions: Both occupational and environmental short-term exposures to fine particles are associated with reductions in FEV and FVC in healthy adults.