AGRICULTURAL DUST AND CHILDHOOD ASTHMA SYMPTOMS

描述（由申请人提供）：拟议的研究将评估在北卡罗莱纳州公立学校就读的七年级和八年级学生中暴露于工业化牲畜操作与哮喘相关症状患病率之间的关系。在1999-2000学年期间，北卡罗莱纳州卫生与公众服务部对全州中学生进行了一项以人口为基础的调查，以评估哮喘相关症状的流行程度、药物使用情况、妨碍充分使用药物的障碍以及所报告症状的行为后果。本申请旨在通过探索被调查学生中哮喘症状的患病率与在校期间接触农业空气污染物之间的关系，扩大全州调查的效益和效用。将利用一个广泛的工业畜牧业数据库，包括有关动物的大小、种类、地理位置和废物管理做法的信息，来估计学校的接触情况。暴露估计将补充有关学校环境的信息，包括空调、霉菌、气味和其他学校建筑特征。流行病学分析将侧重于哮喘相关症状的患病率与暴露估计之间的关联。本研究的具体目的是：(1)利用以下测量数据的空间分析来估计公立中学工业化畜牧业的空气排放暴露情况：(a)畜牧业到中学的距离，(b)特定中学周围畜牧业中所有动物的稳态活重，以及(c)从学校工作人员那里获得的关于学校气味、环境和物理条件的信息；(2)确定学生发生哮喘相关症状的风险是否与最近的工业畜牧养殖场的距离、学校附近的动物数量以及校本接触工业畜牧有关；(3)评估哮喘相关症状和暴露在地理、种族和社会经济类别中的分布，以确定症状和牲畜暴露的频率和严重程度是否对学生的特定亚群造成了最沉重的负担。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The proposed study will assess the relationship between exposure to industrial livestock operations and the prevalence of asthma-related symptoms among 7TH and 8TH grade students attending public schools in North Carolina. During the 1999-2000 school year, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services conducted a statewide population-based survey of middle school students in order to assess the prevalence of asthma-related symptoms, medication use, barriers to adequate medication use, and behavioral consequences of the reported symptoms. This application seeks to extend the benefit and utility of the statewide survey by exploring the relationship between the prevalence of asthma symptoms among surveyed students and exposure to agricultural airborne pollutants experienced during school hours. School-based exposure will be estimated using an extensive database of industrial livestock operations, including information about the size, type of animals, geographic location, and waste management practices. Exposure estimates will be supplemented with information provided about the school environment, including air-conditioning, mold, odor, and other school-building characteristics. Epidemiologic analyses will focus on the association between the prevalence of asthma-related symptoms and exposure estimates. The specific aims of this study are: (1) to estimate exposure to airborne emissions from industrial livestock operations at public middle schools using spatial analysis of the following measurements: (a) distance from the livestock operation to the middle school, (b) steady state live weight of all animals in livestock operations surrounding a given middle school, and (c) information obtained from school personnel about odor, environmental, and physical conditions at the schools; (2) to determine whether students' risk of asthma-related symptoms is related to the distance to the nearest industrial livestock operation, quantity of animals near the school, and school-based exposure to industrial livestock; and (3) to evaluate the distribution of asthma-related symptoms and exposures within geographic, racial, and socio-economic categories to determine whether the frequency and severity of symptoms and livestock exposures most heavily burden specific subpopulations of students.