Residential exposure to air pollution and COPD: a pilot study in Torino city.

<bold>Background:</bold> The main environmental risk factors related to COPD were explored for one year in a cohort of males resident in Turin (IT) for at least 5 years. <bold>Methods:</bold> 50 volunteers with moderate COPD participated in a semi-structured questionnaire and performed spiometry monthly for one year. 7 quantitative variables (BMI, age, FEV1, FVC, FEV1/FVC, PM10, PM2.5) were collected to perform principal component analysis (PCA). Six qualitative variables (smoking, type of home heating, pets, type of cooking, occupational exposure, place of residence) were studied and used for agglomerative hierarchical clustering (AHC) analysis. <bold>Results:</bold> The results of the statistical analyzes show a close correlation between PM10 and PM2.5, the respiratory function indices are positively correlated with the presence of gas cookers and with the place of residence. The area of residence and higher PM concentrations near the subject's residence were correlated with lower values of the Tiffeneau index (IT=FVE1/FVC). <bold>Conclusions:</bold> The results suggest that volunteers with COPD who have resided for at least 5 years in high-traffic areas have lung function indices related to residential exposure (house close to primary roads). Furthermore, volunteers who reside in green areas and away from primary roads have higher IT. Furthermore, the positive correlation between the presence of gas cookers inside homes and respiratory function indices should be explored further.