Abstract

Summary
This study aims to critically evaluate the effect of photochemical smog on COPD patients in Nigeria. A cohort of COPD patients was recruited from two large hospitals in Abuja Nigeria. Symptom questionnaires, daily diaries, dyspnoea scale and measurement of lung function were used to obtain health data. Real-time air pollution data was obtained from a monitoring site at Abuja airport. Measured air pollution concentrations, for the precursors of photochemical smog, are far higher than those recorded in the developed world where a link between air pollution and respiratory health has been observed. The lung function values recorded for the cohort would indicate that respiratory health in the cohort is poor with a mean age suggesting that COPD is developing at a far earlier age in Nigeria. The correlation between measured air pollution and an exacerbation of symptoms will be investigated as part of this project.