Cytological changes of the respiratory tract in young adults related to high levels of air pollution exposure.

Several histopathological and cytological studies have shown that lesions of the respiratory tract epithelium become increasingly severe with duration of exposure to high levels of urban air pollution as well as with ageing of studied population groups. In this study we investigated and compared findings of cytological abnormalities in sputa of young adults (21-25 years of age) exposed to high levels of air pollution since birth with those who were exposed in the last 2-3 years only. All subjects were non-smokers and were clinically healthy at the time of sampling. No significant differences in the incidence or severity of any of the cytological findings were found. The fact that even 10 times longer exposure to air pollution resulted in no major respiratory tract epithelial changes is, in our opinion, a result of the extremely efficient defence mechanisms and enormous regenerative potential of the respiratory tract of younger people.