美國PM2.5空氣污染物與兒童過動症風險增高之關係，美國生態型之研究

PM2.5 pollution increases the risk of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in children: An ecological study in the United States of America

劉斯恩(Szuen Liu)

指導教授 ： 博華諾

臺北醫學大學/公共衛生學院/全球衛生暨發展碩士學位學程/碩士(2018年)

摘要

幾十年來，科學研究表明，空氣污染對人體健康是有害的。數百項研究已經證實對人體免疫系統，呼吸系統和心血管系統有負面影響。然而近年來，研究人員也開始研究空氣污染與大腦發育和認知功能之間的可能聯繫，特別是兒童。這樣的研究已經引起人們對空氣污染物的擔憂，空氣污染物足夠小到達人類大腦，從而可能影響大腦發育，認知功能和其他神經問題。一個可能與大腦發育受損或改變有關的行為問題是兒童注意缺陷/多動症（ADHD）的明顯增加，一些以前的研究提示與大氣污染有關。因此，本研究的目的是探討空氣顆粒物≤2.5μm（PM2.5）污染濃度與兒童注意缺陷/多動障礙（ADHD）發病率之間的關係。我收集了12年（2000-2011）的年度PM2.5數據，併計算了美國29個州2-17歲兒童的ADHD百分比數據的平均值和一年（2011年）。結果顯示，較高的PM2.5值與27個州ADHD百分比較高相關，並解釋了19％的變異（線性回歸，n = 27，r2 = 0.19，標準係數= 0.43，p = 0.02） 。排除不在美國大陸（阿拉斯加和夏威夷）的兩個州之後，總體趨勢依然存在。兩個可能混雜的變量，GDP和城市化水平，並沒有影響整體結果。因此，這項研究增加了其他幾項研究的進一步證據，這些研究顯示了空氣污染，尤其是PM2.5污染，以及影響大腦發育，認知功能和其他神經問題的方面之間可能的流行病學聯繫。應進一步研究：（1）包括更多可能混雜的變量;（2）測試其他人群的這種關係。

關鍵字

空氣污染 ； 細懸浮微粒 ； PM2.5 ； 兒童過動症 ； 認知功能 ； 腦部發展 ； 兒童健康 ； 生態學研究 ； 空氣毒性

並列摘要

For several decades, scientific research has shown that air pollution is harmful to human health. Hundreds of studies have demonstrated negative effects on the human immune system, respiratory system, and cardiovascular system. In recent years, however, researchers have also begun to study the possible link between air pollution and brain development and cognitive function, especially in children. Such studies have raised concerns about airborne pollutants which are small enough to reach the human brain and may thus affect brain development, cognitive functions, and other neural problems. One behavioral problem which may be related to impaired or changed brain development is the apparent increase of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children, with some previous studies suggesting a link to air pollution. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the relation between airborne particulate matter ≤ 2.5 μm (PM2.5) pollution concentrations and the incidence rate of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children in an ecological design. I collected 12 years (2000-2011) of annual PM2.5 data and calculated the mean, and one year (2011) of ADHD percentage data of the children age 2-17 for 29 states of the USA. The results showed that higher PM2.5 values were associated with a higher ADHD percentages across the 27 states and explained 19% of the variation (linear regression, n = 27, r2 = 0.19, std. coeff. = 0.43, p = 0.02). After excluding the two states not within the continental USA (Alaska and Hawaii), the overall trend still held. Two possibly confounding variables, GDP and level of urbanization, did not influence the overall result. This study thus adds further evidence to several other studies which have shown a possible epidemiological link between air pollution, and more particularly PM2.5 pollution, and aspects of affect brain development, cognitive functions and other neural problems. Further studies should be conducted that (1) include more potentially confounding variables and (2) test this relationship for other populations.

並列關鍵字

Air pollution ； particulate matter ； PM2.5 ； attention-deficit/hyperactive disorder (ADHD) ； attention deficit disorder (ADD) ； cognitive function ； brain development ； children’s health ； ecological study ； air toxicity

參考文獻

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