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Comparative Short-Term Health Responses To Sulfur Dioxide Exposure and Other Common Stresses in a Panel of Asthmatics

Rancho Los Amigos Medical Center Downey, California and University of Southern California School of Medicine Los Angeles, California

Peter A. Lachenbruch

Department of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, California

Philip Harber

Department of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, California

William S. Linn

Rancho Los Amigos Medical Center Downey, California and University of Southern California School of Medicine Los Angeles, California

We studied 14 unmedicated sulfur dioxide (S02)-sensitive asthmatics to test the hypothesis that SO₂ exacerbates asthma more than other everyday respiratory stressors. In Phase I, subjects underwent controlled exposures to 0.0, 0.5, and 1.0 ppm SO₂ with light, medium, and heavy exercise (average ventilation 30, 36, and 43 l/min, respectively). Lung function, symptoms of asthma, and psychophysical (stamina) changes were measured. Function, symptom, and stamina responses correlated modestly. Increasing SO₂ had stronger unfavorable effects than increasing exercise. In Phase II, subjects performed eight different physical tasks in SO₂-free ambient air while symptoms and stamina were measured. Fast stair-climbing evoked symptoms similar to the effects of 0.5 ppm SO₂/light exercise, while stamina reduction was comparable to 0.5 ppm SO₂/heavy exercise. In Phase III, subjects recorded time-activity patterns, symptoms, and stamina during randomly selected intervals on a typical weekday and weekend day. Most reported activities were sedentary. Infrequent, strenuous Phase III exercise increased symptoms more than did 0.5 ppm SO₂/light exercise, but with less effect on stamina. We conclude that for typical mild asthmatics, ten-minute SO₂ exposures at concentrations >0.5 ppm andventilation >30 l/min can cause short-term asthma manifestations more intense than those usually experienced from everyday stresses without SO₂ exposure.

Key Words: ANOVA • analysis of variance • BS • Borg scale • ECG • electrocardiogram • FEV1 • forced expired volume in one second • FVC • forced vital capacity: PC • principal component • PCA • principal components analysis • PEFR • peak expiratory flow rate • RIP • respiratory inductive plethysmograph • SRaw • specific airway resistance • VAS • visual analog scale.

Toxicology and Industrial Health, Vol. 11, No. 5, 467-487 (1995)
DOI: 10.1177/074823379501100502


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