Indoor air pollution and respiratory function on primary school students in West Jakarta, Indonesia

Background: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between air pollutant exposure, i.e., Particulate Matter (PM_2,5), and the numbers of airborne bacterial colonies inside the classroom to the respiratory symptoms of three primary school children in West Jakarta. Methods: We did a quantitative study with a cross-sectional design using variables, i.e., age, sex, physical activity, nutritional status, students’ density, ventilation, classroom temperature, and classroom humidity. We used Haz-Dust EPAM 5000 to measure PM_2,5,MAS 100 NT to calculate the total bacterial colony, spirometry to measure the respiratory capacity, and questionnaire to measure other related variables. Results: We found a significant relationship between PM_2,5concentration with respiratory symptoms, however, there was no significant relationship between the total number of airborne bacterial colonies with respiratory symptoms. Conclusion: Based on our results, we conclude that there was a significant relationship between the PM_2,5 concentration and obstructive pulmonary symptoms and there was no significant relationship between the numbers of the bacterial colonies with pulmonary symptoms.