Who is affected More by Air Pollution – Sick or Healthy? Some Evidence from a Health Survey of Schoolchildren Living in the Vicinity of a Coal-Fired Power Plant in Northern Israel

Abstract
Objective: To evaluate the effects of exposure to air pollution by NOx and SO2 on the development of pulmonary function in children, characterized by different health status.
Methods: A cohort of 1181 schoolchildren from the 2nd – 5th grades was subdivided into three health status groups, according to the diagnosis given by a physician: a) healthy children; b)
children experiencing chest symptoms, and c) children with asthma or spastic bronchitis. Pulmonary Function Tests (PFTs) were performed twice (in 1996 and 1999) and analyzed in
conjunction with air pollution estimates at the children's places of residence and several potential confounders – height, gender, parental education, passive smoking, housing density, length of
residence in the study area and proximity to the main road.

 

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