Browsing by Author "Kanae Karita"

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    Particulate Air Pollution and Chronic Respiratory Symptoms among Traffic Policemen in Bangkok
    (2003-04-01) Kenji Tamura; Wanida Jinsart; Eiji Yano; Kanae Karita; Doungrutai Boudoung; National Institute for Environmental Studies of Japan; Chulalongkorn University; Teikyo University School of Medicine; Mahidol University
    In this cross-sectional study, the authors examined the relationship between traffic-based air pollution and chronic, nonspecific respiratory symptoms among traffic policemen in Bangkok, Thailand. A total of 1,603 policemen who lived and worked in areas that had 3 different levels of airborne particulates were evaluated. The authors used a modified standardized questionnaire to identify nonspecific respiratory disease (NSRD) in participants. The prevalence of NSRD in heavily polluted, moderately polluted, and suburban areas was 13.0%, 10.9%, and 9.4%, respectively. Among nonsmokers, the age-adjusted prevalence of NSRD in the heavily polluted areas was significantly higher than in the suburban control area. Also among nonsmokers, the odds ratio for NSRD for each 10-μg/m3increase in ambient particulate matter was 1.11. The authors concluded that the increased prevalence of respiratory symptoms among traffic policemen in Bangkok was associated with urban traffic air pollution.
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    Respiratory symptoms and pulmonary function among traffic police in bangkok, thailand
    (2001-01-01) Kanae Karita; Eiji Yano; Wanida Jinsart; Doungrutai Boudoung; Kenji Tamura; Teikyo University School of Medicine; Chulalongkorn University; Mahidol University; National Institute for Environmental Studies of Japan
    The authors undertook a cross-sectional study of the potential adverse health effects of air pollution in Bangkok, Thailand. During 1998 and 1999, the authors administered lung function spirometry tests and a Thai version of the American Thoracic Society's Division of Lung Diseases (ATS-DLD) respiratory questionnaire to 78 male traffic police and 60 male nontraffic police in Bangkok, as well as to 68 male general police in Ayutthaya province, a rural area in Thailand. No consistent trend of decreased pulmonary function was observed in traffic police. The authors controlled for age, height and smoking index, after which mean levels of forced expiratory volume in 1 sec and maximal expiratory flow rate in 25% of vital capacity ([Vdot]25) were significantly lower in Bangkok police than in Ayutthaya police. The prevalence of respiratory symptoms among Bangkok police was slightly higher than among Ayutthaya police. Multiple regression analysis identified age and workplace as statistically significant factors that contributed to the values of forced expiratory volume in 1 sec and [Vdot]25This study provided some evidence of an increase in prevalence of obstructive changes in the peripheral airways among traffic police in Bangkok. © 2001 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.