Air Pollution and Respiratory System Responses in Healthy Adults Engaging in Outdoor Physical Exercise in Urban Environments: A Scoping Review

Sergio Leonardo Cortés González () and Katy Alexandra López Pereira
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Sergio Leonardo Cortés González: Physiotherapy Department, Faculty of Health, Pampalinda Campus, Universidad Santiago de Cali, Cali 760041, Colombia
Katy Alexandra López Pereira: Physiotherapy Department, Faculty of Health, Pampalinda Campus, Universidad Santiago de Cali, Cali 760041, Colombia

IJERPH, 2025, vol. 22, issue 9, 1-12

Abstract: Introduction: People who exercise outdoors in urban environments may inhale increased amounts of polluted air due to temporary respiratory changes induced by physical activity. The objective of this scoping review was to map the physiological, morphological, and/or functional responses of the respiratory system to air pollution in healthy adults who exercise outdoors in urban environments. Methods: This review was conducted following the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). A comprehensive search of Medline (PubMed), Redalyc, Scielo, and Web of Science was conducted to identify clinical trials, quasi-experimental studies, and cross-sectional studies published in the last 10 years in English. Studies with healthy adult participants engaged in outdoor physical activity in urban environments were included. Texts with participants with preexisting respiratory diseases, elite athletes, animal models, and computer simulations were excluded. Results: The most frequently reported air pollutants were PM 2.5 , PM 10 , and ozone (O 3 ); the most common forms of exercise were walking, running, and cycling. Exposure to air pollutants during physical activity was associated with reductions in forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV 1 ), as well as increases in the fraction of exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) and proinflammatory biomarkers. Conclusion: The findings indicated that there are modifications in lung function in those who exercise outdoors. However, the association between these respiratory responses and air pollution was not statistically significant in most cases. Some authors suggested that the health benefits of physical activity could mitigate the harmful effects of air pollution.

Keywords: air pollution; respiratory tract; physical activity; respiratory diseases (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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