Department of Preventive Medicine, Seoul National University, College of Medicine, Korea.
ABSTRACT
A cross-sectional study was conducted in an effort to investigate the effect of air pollution on respiratory symptoms. Two groups of female aged more than 20 living in the unpolluted rural area of Taebul(n=159) and urban area of Taegu(n=140)were selected. The ATS-DAD-78 questionnaire was translated into Korean and administered with minor modification. The proportion of smoker was less than 1% in both area. Exposure to smoking and higher educational level were more frequent in Taegu. Age-adjusted prevalence rates of 'chronic cough', 'chronic sputum', 'wheezing', and 'dyspnea' were higher in Taegu than in Taebul. In particular, the prevalence rate of 'chronic sputum' in Taegu was found to be higher, which was statistically significant. Exposure to smoking and education level were not concerned with all respiratory symptom prevalence rates. In conclusion, this study indicates that an urban factor is related to the rates of respiratory symptoms in Korea.
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