Immunoglobulins under the influence of nonspecific factors. III. Immunoglobulins, pertussis antibodies and lysozyme in three child populations exposed to different air pollution.

Abstract The levels of IgG, IgA, IgM, lysozyme, agglutinins against B. pertussis and B. parapertussis were followed in the blood serum of 306 children 9–10 years old in 3 areas of Central Bohemian region. In children dwelling in areas with more polluted air significantly higher levels of serum lysozyme and of parapertussis antibodies were found by the t-test. The distribution of these values shows significant differences between more polluted areas in comparison with lowerpollution area also in Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. The average levels of Ig approached statistically critical values but did not reach them, but significant differences in the distribution of values of IgG and IgA were shown by the F-test and x 2 -test between lightly and heavily polluted areas. The values of immunological reactions in polluted areas were always higher than in the non-polluted group. This provides evidence for a hypothesis about a stimulatory effect of polluted air on immunological mechanisms in child population. The higher values of IgM observed recently by other authors in women were shown in girls of 9–10 years.