Abstract
The route of breathing, oral or nasal, is a determinant of the doses of inhaled pollutants delivered to target sites in the upper and lower respiratory tracts. We measured partitioning of ventilation, using a divided oronasal mask during a submaximal exercise test, in 37 male and female subjects who ranged in age from 7 to 72 y. The following four patterns of breathing were evident during exercise: (1) nasal only (13.5%), nasal shifting to oronasal (40.5%), oronasal only (40.5%), and oral only (5.4%). Children (i.e., 7–16 y of age) displayed more variability than adults with respect to their patterns of ventilation with exercise. Young adults (i.e., 17–30 y of age) who initially breathed nasally with exercise switched to oral ventilation at a lower percentage of the previously measured maximum ventilation (10.8%) than older subjects (31.8%). The partitioning of ventilation between the nasal and oral routes follows complex patterns that cannot be predicted readily by the age, gender, or nasal airway resistance of the subject.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 118-123 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Archives of Environmental Health |
Volume | 52 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1997 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Environmental Chemistry
- Environmental Science(all)
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
- Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis