Influence of Air Pollution and Climate on Daily Health of Gabonese Students in the Capital (Libreville): A Pilot Study

Abstract

Air pollution is a global issue affecting billions of people, especially urban populations in low- and middle-income countries. Since air pollution is a health problem that also involves the climate, this study assessed the relationship between the individual health of 50 college students living in Libreville (Gabon) and air quality, temperature, and humidity using low-cost equipment. The study utilised 81 days of data from the air pollution monitoring network in Libreville. These data were paired with measurements of heart rate, breathing, and stress measured using 5 Garmin vívosmart® smartwatches. In addition to the environmental and health data, participants were also asked about their state of health and their lifestyle during the study. We found average concentrations of PM2.5 (25.25 µg/m3) and PM10 (29.50 µg/m3) that exceed the 24-h WHO air quality standards. The daily average of PM1 was around 17.84 µg/m3. Temperatures observed during the study period varied between 27 and 35 °C (mean = 30.15 °C), and humidity was around 51-77% (mean = 59.5%). Overall, the relationships between the environmental conditions and the health observations were negligible, with correlation coefficients R ≤ 0.36. Despite their weakness, coefficients between 0.31 and 0.36 showed that stress levels are associated with temperature, PM2.5 and PM10. The average stress level was associated with PM10 (R = 0.34) and PM2.5 (R = 0.36). Finally, the study reveals that smokers, mosquito repellent users, and fan users have reduced breathing capacities compared to non-smokers, non-users of mosquito repellent products, non-users of fans, users and non-users of air conditioning. The study recommends the use of portable sensors to measure individual exposure to environmental parameters for similar studies, which will resolve the problem of spatial representativeness highlighted in this study. It is also recommended that Gabon's health policies incorporate early warnings of forecast high temperatures or pollution peaks, in order to limit health risks