Influence of environmental variables on functional capacity in patients with lung disease

Air pollution is related to negative impacts mainly on people with Chronic Respiratory Diseases (CRD), reflecting on respiratory health, reduced physical performance and so on. The objective was to investigate the influence of meteorological and air quality variables on the functional capacity of patients with CRD. This was a descriptive, retrospective and cross-sectional study of information collection in a database from 2016 to 2019. For the analysis of environmental variables, three different databases were used, one from the automatic air quality monitoring station in Novo Hamburgo, and the weather stations of Novo Hamburgo and Campo Bom (RS). The monitored data were: NO2, CO, O3, PM10, PM2,5, average temperature, minimum temperature, maximum temperature, precipitation, average wind speed and relative humidity. The sample consisted of 85 individuals from the Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program (PRP), where the variables spirometry and six-minute walk test (6MWT) were collected. It was observed that the higher the concentration of PM10 and the higher the minimum temperature, the lower the spirometric results. Furthermore, the greater the concentration of PM2.5, the shorter the distance that the individual travels. A relationship was found between environmental data and functional tests, where individuals with CRD are more sensitive to high levels of air pollutants, as well as to lower temperatures.