Respiratory-cardiovascular adaptations in 7-49-year-old inhabitants of selected regions of Poland.

This paper is based on the examination of 2789 individuals of both sexes, aged 7-8, 10-11, 14-15, and 29-49 years, inhabiting the Suwałki region (S), Lublin Coal Basin (LCB), Bełchatów Industrial Center (BIC), Dabrowa Basin in Silesia region (DB) and the city of Lódź. Some respiratory-cardiovascular system and blood traits were analyzed (apnoea, minute lung volume, vital capacity, hemoglobin concentration, hematocrit index, systolic blood pressure, and heart rate). It has been found that compensation of function within the respiratory and the cardiovascular system (an increase in some traits combined with a decrease in some others) is a characteristic way of adaptation to an agricultural environment with a harsh climate (the Suwałki region). In areas under industrialization (LCB and BIC) a functional compensation was observed for all the features under study. In DB, phenomenon of compensation was observed in children, and symptoms at the border of non-adaptation and overadaptation (most traits had average values, whereas respiratory and blood traits tended to be above average) were noted in adults. The inhabitants of Lódź were characterized by a high minute volume and long apnoea. Children were characterized by a compensation within the respiratory and the cardiovascular system, whereas in adults the response ranged from compensation within traits of one of the functional systems to the phenomenon at the border of non-adaptation and overadaptation.