A Study on the Lung Health of School Children Travelling By School Buses and Air-Conditioned Vehicles: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study.

INTRODUCTION

With growing urbanization, cities are becoming increasingly polluted, and air pollution is becoming a major health concern. The objective of our study was to compare children travelling either by air-conditioned (AC) vehicles or non-AC school buses in terms of respiratory illnesses, spirometry parameters, and school attendance.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

Children aged 6-11 years from classes 1 to 5 were included. Data were collected on demography, transportation details, history, and spirometry findings. Multinomial logistic regression and bivariate correlation tests were applied for the analysis of data.

RESULTS

In total, 216 children were randomly selected, of which 210 students were included for the data analysis. In our study, we found 76. Seven percent of children had some or other respiratory symptoms in the last 30 days in either mode of transportation. Pulmonary function test results, including forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) and FEV1: Peak expiratory flow rate ratio, were similar in both groups, with P = 0.99 and 0.400, respectively. Students who travel by bus or non-AC vehicles are 20% more likely to miss their attendance as compared to those who travel by AC vehicles, with an odds ratio of 1.20 (confidence interval 0.55-2.64; P = 0.641).

CONCLUSION

Our research study concluded that children who ride on non-AC buses are more vulnerable to the negative impacts of air pollution and greater distances result in longer exposure to pollution, which aggravates respiratory conditions more frequently and raises school absenteeism.