Abstract

In the last few years, air within homes have been indicates by various and emerging body as more serious polluted than those outdoor. Prevalence of respiratory inflammation among school children aged 8 and 10 years old attending national primary schools in urban and rural area were conducted in Klang Valley. Two population studies drawn from the questionnaires were used to investigate the association between indoor particulate matter (PM_2.5 & PM₁₀) in a home environment and respiratory implication through the understanding of biological responses. Approximately 430 healthy school children of Standard 2 and Standard 5 were selected. Indication of respiratory symptoms using adaptation questionnaire from American Thoracic Society (1978). Sputum sample collection taken for biological analysis. IL-6 then was analyse by using ELISA techniques. Indoor PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ were measured using Dust Trak Aerosol Monitor. The mean concentration of PM_2.5 (45.38 µg/m³) and PM₁₀ (80.07 µg/m³) in urban home environment is significantly higher compared to those in rural residential area (p=0.001). Similar trend also shows by the prevalence of respiratory symptom. Association were found with PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ with the level of IL-6 among school children. A greater exposure to PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ are associated with higher expression of IL-6 level suggesting that the concentration of indoor particulate in urban density area significantly influence the health of children.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.