Sunday, February 20, 2011

Air Pollution and Marathons

Effect of Air Pollution on Marathon Running Performance (Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2010; 42 (3))

Also discussed here: Women More Affected Than Men by Air Pollution When Running Marathons (Science Daily, Mar. 2, 2010)
This analysis describes the greater impact of PM on female performance during marathons than on that of male runners. This is seen as reflecting the smaller trachea which would be more sensitive to particulates, a sensitivity also seen in the impact of PM on the lungs of young children.

Key Quotes:
“Marathon race results, weather data, and air pollutant concentrations were obtained for seven marathons for 8-28 yr.”
“during a race, marathon runners inhale and exhale about the same volume of air as a sedentary person would over the course of two full days”
“Higher levels of particles in the air were associated with slower running times for women, while men were not significantly affected”
“The difference may be due to the smaller size of women's tracheas, which makes it easier for certain particles to deposit there and possibly to cause irritation”
“For every 10-μg·m−3 increase in PM10, performance can be expected to decrease by 1.4%.”
“PM10 was significantly correlated with performance of women marathon runners.”

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