High Levels Of PM2 Research Articles

Characteristics and toxicological effects of commuter exposure to black carbon and metal components of fine particles (PM2.5) in Hong Kong

Epidemiological studies have demonstrated significant associations between traffic-related air pollution and adverse health outcomes. Personal exposure to fine particles (PM2.5) in transport microenvironments and their toxicological properties remain to be investigated. Commuter exposures were investigated in public transport systems (including the buses and Mass Transit Railway (MTR)) along two sampling routes in Hong Kong. Real-time sampling for PM2.5 and black carbon (BC), along with integrated PM2.5 sampling, were performed during the warm and cold season of 2016–2017, respectively. Commuter exposure to BC during 3-hour commuting time exhibited a wider range, from 3.4 to 4.6 μg/m3 on the bus and 5.5 to 8.7 μg/m3 in MTR cabin (p < .05). PM2.5 mass and major chemical constituents (including organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), and metals) were analyzed. Cytotoxicity, including cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, was determined in addition to acellular ROS generation. PM2.5 treatment promoted the ROS generation in a concentration-dependent manner. Consistent diurnal variations were observed for commuter exposure to BC and PM2.5 components, along with cellular and acellular ROS generation, which marked with two peaks during the morning (08:00–11:00) and evening rush hours (17:30–20:30). Commuter exposures in the MTR system were characterized by higher levels of PM2.5 and elemental components (e.g., Ca, Cr, Fe, Zn, Ba) compared to riding the bus, along with higher cellular and acellular ROS production (p < .01). These metals were attributed to different sources: rail tracks, wheels, brakes, and crustal origin. Weak to moderate associations were shown for the analyzed transition metals with PM2.5-induced cell viability and cellular ROS. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that Ni, Zn, Mn, Fe, Ti, and Co attributed to cytotoxicity and ROS generation. These findings underscore the importance of commuter exposures and their toxic effects, urging effective mitigating strategies to protect human health.

The influence of meteorology and emissions on the spatio-temporal variability of PM10 in Malaysia

Equatorial Asia experiences frequent degraded air quality conditions, as a result of the complex interaction between the abundant air pollution sources and the local/regional meteorological patterns, which ultimately impact densely populated cities. Due to the scarcity of extensive observational datasets, both observational and modeling studies have been rather limited in their spatio-temporal extent and/or the certainty of their estimates. This study presents a country-wide, multi-decadal analysis of PM10 observations (i.e. particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter < 10 μm) from a network in Malaysia comprising 52 monitoring sites, which allows a novel and comprehensive assessment of the spatio-temporal variability of the country's air quality. Through statistical analyses and adoption of a parsimonious statistical model, we investigate the influence of urban and wildfire emissions, as well as of key meteorological variables on the observed PM10 patterns, at a variety of temporal scales. Our results suggest a strong influence of wildfire pollution from neighboring countries on the seasonal increase of both monthly average PM10 and number of days exceeding Malaysia's air quality standards. Regional differences in median PM10 during the non-fire season suggest the contribution of urban emissions in deteriorating air quality. The influence of meteorology varies by region and season, with an indication of wet deposition mechanisms reducing PM10 concentrations during the boreal winter and spring, while the summer and fall present temperatures and winds enhancing fire ignition conditions and long-range transport of transboundary pollution. The Klang Valley area remains the region with the most challenging pollution dynamics, showing both high persistent PM10 levels and yearly fire-season extreme pollution episodes. This study provides a baseline of model performance for future studies focusing on investigating regional scale transport and urban-level pollution, as well as on future projections of air quality conditions resulting from pollution mitigation strategies and climate change.

A Decade of Air Quality in Bogotá: A Descriptive Analysis

In this work we apply a rigorous and reproducible data analytics process for validation and analysis of the historical data from Bogota (Colombia) air quality monitoring network since 1998. The reasons for addressing this research study stem from the lack of a consistent approach for cleaning, validating and reporting air quality data. By analyzing the whole dataset, we are aiming at providing citizens and the city authorities with a clear view of the current situation of air quality and of its historical evolution. Without any loss of generality, we focus our analysis on both respirable and fine particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) concentrations, which in Bogota and worldwide are source of concern for their negative impacts on human health. We develop a reproducible and flexible data cleaning methodology for particulate matter concentration data reported by the local authorities, which allows customizing and applying configurable validation rules. Then, we present statistical descriptive analyses by providing intuitive data visualizations, characterizing historical and spatial change of air pollutant levels. Results raise concerns for the high percentage of invalid data, as well as the high levels of PM2.5 and PM10 ambient concentrations as observed in the valid portion of the available data, which frequently exceed national and international air quality standards. The data exhibit encouraging signs of air quality improvement, particularly for PM10. However, the analyses indicate that significant differences exist across Bogota, and particularly in the south-west zone of the city annual concentrations of particulate matter are up to three or four times the WHO recommendations. We are confident on the methodology and results from our analysis are useful both for local environmental authority and the general public to help in obtaining consistent conclusions from the available data.

Do Saharan Dust Days Carry a Risk of Hospitalization From Respiratory Diseases for Citizens of the Canary Islands (Spain)?

BackgroundSaharan dust meets the Canary Islands at the beginning of its westward path across the North Atlantic, exceeding the European daily levels for PM10; for this reason, their two provincial capital cities, constitute optimal sites where to evaluate the health effects of this natural event. ObjectivesTo assess the short-term association between Saharan Dust Days (SDDs) and respiratory morbidity in the two capital cities. MethodsWe carried out a time-series analysis with daily emergency hospital admissions due to all respiratory system diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma between 2001 and 2005, assessing the independent effect of SDDs, defined according to the application of the methodology accepted by the European Environmental Office. We also examined accumulated effect, and some other specific SDDs’ features. ResultsWe found a short-term association between SDDs and the increase in admission risk for the three outcomes during concurrent SDDs, compared to non-SDDs, that spread from 0 to 5th day: 22.6% (95% confidence interval [CI], 10.4, 36.0) for all respiratory diseases and 29.9% (95%CI: 6.6, 58.4) for COPD in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and 33.4% (95%CI: −2.1,82.0) for asthma in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. We obtained a robust association when Saharan dust transported at low altitude, when SDDs belonged to long episodes (≥5days), from the fifth SDD onwards and those SDDs with medium (50<PM<150) or high (≥150) PM10 levels. ConclusionsWe found evidence that SDDs carry a risk of emergency hospital admission from respiratory diseases in the Canary Islands.

Intensive care admissions and outcomes associated with short-term exposure to ambient air pollution: a time series analysis.

Short-term exposure to outdoor air pollution has been positively associated with numerous measures of acute morbidity and mortality, most consistently as excess cardiorespiratory disease associated with fine particulate matter (PM2.5), particularly in vulnerable populations. It is unknown if the critically ill, a vulnerable population with high levels of cardiorespiratory disease, is affected by air pollution. We performed a time series analysis of emergency cardiorespiratory, stroke and sepsis intensive care (ICU) admissions for the years 2008-2016, using data from the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society Adult Patient Database (ANZICS-APD). Case-crossover analysis was conducted to assess the relationship between air pollution and the frequency and severity of ICU admissions having adjusted for temperature, humidity, public holidays and influenza activity. 46,965 episodes in 87 separate ICUs were analysed. We found no statistically significant associations with admission counts. However, ICU admissions ending in death within 30days were significantly positively associated with short-term exposure to PM2.5 [RR 1.18, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02-1.37, per 10µg/m3 increase]. This association was more pronounced in those aged 65 and over (RR 1.33, 95% CI 1.11-1.58, per 10µg/m3). Increased ICU mortality was associated with higher levels of PM2.5. Larger studies are required to determine if the frequency of ICU admissions is positively associated with short-term exposure to air pollution.

Effects of ambient PM2.5 and particle-bound metals on the healthy residents living near an electric arc furnace: A community- based study

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) emitted from electric arc furnaces (EAFs) poses health concerns. However, little research has been done on the impact of EAF on the health of community residents. This cross-sectional study conducted a PM2.5 exposure assessment and health examination of community residents living near an EAF. A total of 965 residents aged 40–90 years were recruited. The residents' exposure to PM2.5 was categorized according to the distance of their residence from the EAFs (<500, 500–1000, 1000–1500, 1500–2000, and > 2000 m). Average ambient PM2.5 concentrations were estimated using a hybrid kriging/land-use regression (LUR) model. In addition, we selected two air-sampling sites to monitor the 2-year levels of PM2.5 and particle-bound metals. A spot urine sample and blood samples were collected and ten heavy metal concentrations in the blood were analyzed. Inflammation- and oxidative stress-related biomarkers were measured. The associations between environmental factors and a biochemical examination were estimated using a generalized linear model. Active air sampling and hybrid kriging/LUR model simulation indicated increased levels of PM2.5 near the EAF. The metal concentrations in PM2.5 included Fe, Pb, Mn, Ni, As, Cu, Ni, Zn, and Al, which also significantly increased near the EAF. PM2.5 levels were significantly associated with an increased total cholesterol–high-density lipoprotein (TC/HDL) ratio. High levels of PM2.5 and malondialdehyde were associated with a 1.72-fold increased risk of TC/HDL ratio ≥ 4 (95% CI: 1.12–2.65) after adjusting for potential confounding factors. Blood Pb levels were significantly associated with increased systolic and diastolic blood pressure and decreased estimated glomerular filtration rate but negatively associated with distance from the EAF. The results show that people living near EAFs should pay more attention to adverse health problems, including atherogenic dyslipidemia, hypertension, and chronic kidney disease associated with exposure to PM2.5 and particle-bound metals.

Associations between the incidence and mortality rates of type 2 diabetes mellitus and long-term exposure to ambient air pollution: A 12-year cohort study in northern China

BackgroundAmbient air pollution has recently been related to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), a disease that has caused an economic and health burden worldwide. Evidence of an association between air pollution and T2DM was reported in the United States and Europe. However, few studies have focused on the association with high levels of air pollutants in a developing country. ObjectivesWe conducted a 12-year cohort study to assess the incidence and mortality of T2DM associated with long-term exposure to PM10, SO2, and NO2. MethodsA retrospective cohort with participants from four cities in northern China was conducted to assess mortality and incidence of T2DM from 1998 to 2009. Incidence of T2DM was self-reported, and incident intake of an antidiabetic drug or injection of insulin simultaneously and mortality of T2DM was obtained from a family member and double checked against death certificates provided from the local center for disease control and prevention. Individual pollution exposures were the mean concentrations of pollutants estimated from the local environmental monitoring centers over the survival years. Hazard ratios (HRs) were estimated using Cox regression models after adjusting for potential confounding factors. ResultsA total of 39 054 participants were recruited into the mortality cohort, among which 59 subjects died from T2DM; 38 529 participants were analyzed in the incidence cohort, and 1213 developed new cases of T2DM. For each 10 μg/m3 increase in PM10, SO2, and NO2, the adjusted HRs and 95% confidence interval (CI) for diabetic incidence were 1.831 (1.778, 1.886), 1.287 (1.256, 1.318), and 1.472 (1.419, 1.528), respectively. Similar results can be observed in the analysis of diabetic mortality with HRs (95% CI) up to 2.260 (1.732, 2.950), 1.130 (1.042, 1.225), and 1.525 (1.280, 1.816), respectively. ConclusionsOur results suggested that long-term exposure to high levels of PM10, SO2, and NO2 increase risk of incident and mortality of T2DM in China.

Association between ambient fine particulate matter and adult hospital admissions for pneumonia in Beijing, China

Abstract Previous studies have reported conflicting results on the relationship between ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and pneumonia in adults. This study was designed to conduct a time-series study to investigate the short-term association between ambient PM2.5 concentrations and hospitalization for pneumonia in Beijing adults. Hospitalization data were obtained from the Beijing Medical Claim Data for Employees database. A generalized additive model with a Poisson link was applied to assess the relationship between PM2.5 and pneumonia. In total, 37,552 adult hospital admissions for pneumonia were identified between January 1, 2010, and June 30, 2012. High levels of PM2.5 were significantly associated with increased hospitalizations for pneumonia. A 10-μg/m3 increase in PM2.5 concentrations on lag days 0–2 was associated with a 0.79% (95% confidence interval: 0.69%–0.90%) increase in hospitalizations for pneumonia. Patients aged ≥65 years were more sensitive to the adverse effects (0.89%, 95% confidence interval: 0.80%–0.98% in patients ≥65 years old; 0.52%, 95% confidence interval: 0.34%–0.70% in patients 18–64 years old; P = 0.033). But the difference of estimates was not significant between sex (0.92%, 95% confidence interval: 0.85%–0.99% in female; 0.76%, 95% confidence interval: 0.62%–0.89% in male; P = 0.781) and season (0.98%, 95% confidence interval: 0.85%–1.10% in cool season; 0.44%, 95% confidence interval: 0.22%–0.67% in warm season; P = 0.529). Short-term exposure to PM2.5 was associated with increased risk of hospitalization for pneumonia in adults. Our findings add new evidence on the effect of air pollution on pneumonia and may promote prevention and intervention strategies.

Links between airborne microbiome, meteorology, and chemical composition in northwestern Turkey

The composition of atmospheric aerosols is dynamic and influenced by their emission sources, organic and inorganic composition, transport pathways, chemical and physical processes, microorganisms' content and more. Characterization of such factors can improve the ability to evaluate air quality and health risks under different atmospheric scenarios. Here we investigate the microbial composition of the atmospheric particulate matter (<10 μm; PM10), sampled in Bolu, Turkey, and the linkage to the chemical composition changes, and different environmental factors. We show distinct differences between aerosol composition of different sources and air-mass transport patterns, sampled in July–August 2017 and in February 2018. The summer samples had a typical northern component air mass trajectories and higher local wind speed. They were characterized by high PM10 levels, marine and mineral dust tracers and high relative abundance of Ascomycota, suggesting long-range transport of the particles from remote sources. In contrast, samples collected in February were characterized by a dominant contribution of southern air masses, and low wind speed. They had low PM10 values, higher relative abundance of antibiotic resistance genes and anthropogenic ions related to local industries and farming, suggesting a dominance of local sources. With the microbiome analyses reported here for the first time for this region, we show good agreement between airborne microbial composition, aerosol mass load, chemistry, and meteorology. These results allow better air quality evaluation and prediction capabilities.

The statistical behavior of PM10 events over guadeloupean archipelago: Stationarity, modelling and extreme events

Environmental pollution management is one of the most important features in pollution risk assessment. Several studies have shown that exposure to particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of 10 μm or less, i.e. PM10, were associated to adverse health effects. To our knowledge, no study has yet investigated the modelling of PM10 frequency distribution and extreme events in the Caribbean basin. Here, the descriptive statistics and four theoretical distributions (lognormal, Weibull, Burr and stable) were used to fit the parent distribution of PM10 daily average concentrations in Guadeloupe archipelago with a database of 11 years. In order to determine the best distribution, the Kolmogorov–Smirnov statistic test (KS test) was computed as performance indicator value. With an annual average of 26.4 ± 16.1 μg/m3, the descriptive statistics highlighted that PM10 concentrations in Guadeloupe are lower than those measured in cities of Europe, Asia or Africa. Contrary to other megacities, we found that high PM10 levels in Guadeloupe are mainly due to natural large-scale sources, i.e. African dust. From May to September, i.e. high dust season, PM10 concentrations are 1.5 times larger since dust outbreaks are more frequent. A statistical stationarity threshold of 66 months is estimated using the distribution analysis. This underlines the cycle stability of African dust over this last decade. Concerning the statistical modelling, our results showed that Burr & Weibull mixture model is the best distribution to represent PM10 daily average concentrations with a first statistical behavior corresponding to the low dust season and an another to the high dust season. By analysing the extreme events statistic with the classical power-law distribution, we observed that Burr & Weibull mixture model could also improve the modelling of these events. In summary, the Burr & Weibull mixture model is suitable to model both classical and extreme events.

Local and Long-Range Transport Dust Storms Over the City of Ahvaz: A Survey Based on Spatiotemporal and Geometrical Properties

Particulate matter (PM) represents a criteria air pollutant (CAP) influencing health, climate, cloud properties, economy, agriculture, and the environment. Numerous studies on this subject have classified dust events based on wind speed, visibility, and PM10 levels. The purpose of this study was to evaluate PM10 with a wider range of meteorological parameters and CAPs during different dust storms. Moreover, spatiotemporal and geometrical properties of dust storms were analyzed over the city of Ahvaz between 2012 and 2015. Meteorological parameters included those obtained from the Iran Meteorological Organization (IMO) as well as CAPs from the Ahvaz Environmental Protection Organization (AEPO). During the study period, 68 dust storms were investigated, with sources identified by the AEPO. The highest levels of PM10 were 2877.2, 1327, 2146, 2094, and 1218 µg m−3 during local storms (LS), dusts from Iraq (DI), dust from both sources (DBS), and 1 and 2-peak dust events, respectively. The criteria levels of wind speed, relative humidity, and air temperature also shifted 3 h forward when the severity of dust storms decreased and their durations increased. Strong correlation coefficients (R2) were observed between PM2.5 and PM10 ranging from 0.88 to 0.95 for dust storms falling within each of the five classifications. The highest ascending and the lowest descending slopes belonged to dusts from DBS (600.3 µg m−3 h−1) and DI (73 µg m−3 h−1), respectively. These results have relevance to planning and mitigation strategies for combating different types of dust storms in Ahvaz.

Associations of long-term exposure to ambient PM2.5 with mortality in Chinese adults: A pooled analysis of cohorts in the China-PAR project

BackgroundThe concentration-response relationship between mortality and long-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) has not been fully elucidated, especially at high levels of PM2.5 concentrations. ObjectiveWe aimed to evaluate chronic effects of ambient PM2.5 exposure on deaths among Chinese adults in high-exposure settings. MethodsParticipants of the Prediction for Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease Risk in China (China-PAR) project were included from four prospective cohorts among Chinese adults aged ≥18 years old. The overall follow-up rate of the four cohorts was 93.4% until the recent follow-up survey that ended in 2015. The average of satellite-based PM2.5 concentrations during 2000–2015 at 1-km spatial resolution was assigned to each participant according to individual residence addresses. Based on the pooled analysis of individual data from the four cohorts, a Cox proportional hazards model was used to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) for the association of PM2.5 exposure with mortality after multivariate adjustment. ResultsA total of 116,821 participants were eligible in the final analysis. During a mean of 7.7 years of follow-up, 6,395 non-accidental deaths and 2,507 cardio-metabolic deaths occurred. The mean of PM2.5 concentration was 64.9 μg/m3 ranging from 31.2 μg/m3 to 97.0 μg/m3. For each 10 μg/m3 increment in PM2.5, the HR was 1.11 (95% CI: 1.08–1.14) for non-accidental mortality and 1.22 (95% CI: 1.16–1.27) for cardio-metabolic mortality. In addition, a weak exponential curve for the concentration-response association between mortality and PM2.5 was observed among Chinese adults. ConclusionsOur study provided important evidence of the long-term effects of PM2.5 exposure on deaths among Chinese adults. The findings expand our knowledge on concentration-response relationship in high-exposure environments, which is essential to address the urgent challenge of reducing the disease burden attributable to PM2.5 exposure in rapidly industrializing countries such as China.

Hot Temperatures during Pregnancy: Evidence for an Impact on Fetal Growth.

Hot Temperatures during Pregnancy: Evidence for an Impact on Fetal Growth.

A load-carrier perspective examination on the change of ecological environment carrying capacity during urbanization process in China

Urbanization has prompted a dramatic social and economic development during the past decades in China. As a long-term national strategy, urbanization can only be implemented effectively with sufficient and sustainable ecological environment resources. By appreciating that the ecological environment carrying capacity (EECC) is a yardstick for guiding the practice of sustainable urban development, it is therefore pressing to examine the change of EECC adequately, so that the sustainable urbanization can be addressed appropriately. This paper develops a new method from load-carrier perspective to explore the change of EECC performance in the rapid urbanizing China. The EECC performance on water, land, atmosphere and overall perspectives were measured for 30 provinces in China based on the established method. The results show that most provinces in China are experiencing an improving EECC performance during the urbanization process, particularly with an obvious progress in land dimension. In referring to the spatial difference of overall EECC performance, the gap between 30 provinces has been narrowing during surveyed years. However, few provinces including Chongqing, Shandong and Jiangxi have undergone a degradation in overall EECC performance. The EECC performance in atmosphere dimension is still considered as a challenge faced by most provinces, evidenced by high level of PM2.5 concentration. These research findings provide valuable references not only for Chinese governments to formulate effective policy instruments and strategy measures for improving ecological environmental carrying status, but also for researchers to further study in the ecological environment carrying capacity in the context of other countries.

Association of PM2.5 concentration with health center outpatient visits for respiratory diseases of children under 5\u2009years old in Lima, Peru

BackgroundLima is one of the more polluted cities in Latin America. High levels of PM2.5 have been shown to increase health center outpatient visits of respiratory diseases.MethodsHealth center outpatient visits for children < 5 years for childhood respiratory disease (acute lower respiratory infections (ALRI), pneumonia and acute bronchiolitis/asthma) from 498 public clinics in Lima were available on a weekly basis from 2011 to 2015 from Peru’s Ministry of Health (MINSA). The association between the average weekly concentrations of PM2.5 was evaluated in relation to the number of weekly health center outpatient visits for children. Weekly PM2.5 values were estimated using a recently developed model that combined data observed from ground monitors, with data from space satellite and meteorology. Ground monitoring data came from 10 fixed stations of the Peruvian National Service of Meteorology and Hydrology (SENAMHI) and from 6 mobile stations located in San Juan de Miraflores by Johns Hopkins University. We conducted a time-series analysis using a negative binomial model.ResultsWe found a significant association between exposure to PM2.5 and all three types of respiratory diseases, across all age groups. For an interquartile increase in PM2.5, we found an increase of 6% for acute lower respiratory infections, an increase of 16–19% for pneumonia, and an increase of 10% for acute bronchiolitis / asthma.ConclusionsHigher emissions of environmental pollutants such as PM2,5 could be a trigger for the increase of health center outpatients visits for respiratory diseases (ALRI, pneumonia and asthma), which are themselves risk factors for mortality for children in Lima province, Peru.

Occupational exposure to particulate matter from air pollution in the outdoor workplaces in Almaty during the cold season.

BackgroundA large fraction of population in Almaty and other Kazakhstan cities is employed in the outdoor jobs and likely exposed to high levels of particulate matter (PM) during the cold season. The magnitude of such occupational exposure remains unknown; therefore, the aim was to quantify the levels of exposure to PM10 in the outdoor workplaces in Almaty in order to guide future interventions of primary prevention.MethodsOutdoor security non-smoking guards (N = 12) wore TSI DustTrack AM520 aerosol monitors with a 10-μm impactor for 8 hours of outdoor shift. Ten samples (k = 10) from each worker were obtained for the cold season (November-March) from various locations across Almaty. Total sampling time was 57600 minutes. We compared normalized time-weighted average (TWA) concentrations for 8-hour shifts within and between workers using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and assessed compliance with environmental exposure limit (EEL) (0.060 mg/m3) via exceedance (γ) and probability of overexposure (θ).ResultsPM10 TWA ranged from 0.050 to 2.075 mg/m3 with the geometric mean 0.366 and median 0.352 mg/m3. PM10 TWA distribution was left-skewed with large variation. The fold-range of within-person variability, containing 95% of the exposure concentration (wR0.95) was 13, whereas between-person fold-range (bR0.95) was 3. However, between-person variance exceeded the one within with F-ratio 2.797 (p = 0.003) with statistical power 97% at α = 0.05. Only two of 120 samples had TWA below EEL, yielding γ = 0.995 and θ = 1.ConclusionsOutdoor workers in polluted cities like Almaty are exposed to very high levels of PM10 during the cold season. Urgent action should be taken to regulate such occupational exposure and to raise awareness of workers and employers on hazards associated with it.

COVID Operation Theatre- Advisory and Position Statement of Indian Society of Anaesthesiologists (ISA National).

COVID Operation Theatre- Advisory and Position Statement of Indian Society of Anaesthesiologists (ISA National).

Strengths and Weaknesses of the WHO Urban Air Pollutant Database

ABSTRACT The 2018 World Health Organization (WHO) global ambient air quality database is an impressive compilation of PM10 (particulate matter [PM] with an aerodynamic diameter ≤ 10 µm) monitoring data for 3,570 cities in 97 countries and PM2.5 (PM with an aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 µm) data for 2,628 cities in 81 countries. The database collects PM measurements and estimates from established public air quality monitoring systems. PM contain sulphates, nitrates, and black carbon that can penetrate deep into the lungs and the cardiovascular system, posing the greatest risk to human health. Unsurprisingly, the WHO database reports relatively low levels of urban PM pollution in high-income (HI) countries in Western Europe, the Americas, the Western Pacific, and Oceania. However, there are high PM levels in low- and middle-income (LMI) countries in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America—where lack of funding and inadequate staffing are key barriers to effectively reducing the air pollution. Unfortunately, politicians, organizations, and the media have used the database to draw inaccurate and misleading conclusions based on comparisons between cities, such as occurred with the 2016 version. In this paper, we investigate the strengths and weaknesses of the 2018 database with respect to several criteria such as the selection of pollutants, completeness, spatial and temporal representativeness, and quality assurance and quality control, and offer recommendations for improvement.

The Relationship Between Ambient Atmospheric Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) and Glaucoma in a Large Community Cohort.

Glaucoma is more common in urban populations than in others. Ninety percent of the world's population are exposed to air pollution above World Health Organization (WHO) recommended limits. Few studies have examined the association between air pollution and glaucoma. Questionnaire data, ophthalmic measures, and ambient residential area air quality data for 111,370 UK Biobank participants were analyzed. Particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter < 2.5 μm (PM2.5) was selected as the air quality exposure of interest. Eye measures included self-reported glaucoma, intraocular pressure (IOP), and average thickness of macular ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (GCIPL) across nine Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) retinal subfields as obtained from spectral-domain optical coherence tomography. We examined the associations of PM2.5 concentration with self-reported glaucoma, IOP, and GCIPL. Participants resident in areas with higher PM2.5 concentration were more likely to report a diagnosis of glaucoma (odds ratio = 1.06, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.01-1.12, per interquartile range [IQR] increase P = 0.02). Higher PM2.5 concentration was also associated with thinner GCIPL (β = -0.56 μm, 95% CI = -0.63 to -0.49, per IQR increase, P = 1.2 × 10-53). A dose-response relationship was observed between higher levels of PM2.5 and thinner GCIPL (P < 0.001). There was no clinically relevant relationship between PM2.5 concentration and IOP. Greater exposure to PM2.5 is associated with both self-reported glaucoma and adverse structural characteristics of the disease. The absence of an association between PM2.5 and IOP suggests the relationship may occur through a non-pressure-dependent mechanism, possibly neurotoxic and/or vascular effects.

Effects of pollution, low temperature and influenza syndrome on the excess mortality risk in winter 2016\u20132017

BackgroundIn the winter of 2016–2017, the number of deaths recorded in the north-west Europe was significantly higher than that in previous years. This spike in mortality was attributed principally to an influenza epidemic, but the contribution of air pollution and cold temperature has not been investigated. Information on the combined effect of low temperatures, influenza epidemic, and air pollution on mortality is inadequate. The objective of this study was to estimate the excess mortality in the winter of 2016–2017 in the metropolitan area of Milan, and to evaluate the independent short-term effect of 3 risk factors: low temperatures, the influenza epidemic, and air pollution.MethodsWe used a case-crossover, time-stratified study design. Mortality data were collected on all people aged > 65 years who died of natural causes, due to respiratory diseases or cardiovascular diseases, between December 1, 2016 and February 15, 2017. Environmental data were extracted from the Regional Environmental Protection Agency. The National Surveillance Network provided data on influenza epidemic.ResultsAmong the 7590 natural deaths in people aged > 65 years, 965 (13%) were caused by respiratory conditions, and 2688 (35%) were caused by cardiovascular conditions. There were statistically significant associations between the minimum recorded temperature and deaths due to natural causes (OR = 0.966, 95% CI: 0.944–0.989), and cardiovascular conditions (OR = 0.961, 95% CI: 0.925–0.999). There were also statistically significant association between the influenza epidemic and deaths due to natural causes (OR = 1.198, 95% CI: 1.156–1.241), cardiovascular conditions (OR = 1.153, 95% CI: 1.088–1.223), and respiratory conditions (OR = 1.303, 95% CI: 1.166–1.456). High levels of PM10 (60 and 70 μg/m3) were associated with a statistically significant increase in natural and cause-specific mortality. There were statistically significant interactions between PM10 and influenza for cardiovascular-related mortality, and between influenza and temperature for deaths due to natural causes.ConclusionsExcess of mortality in Milan during winter 2016–2017 was associated with influenza epidemic and concomitant environmental exposures, specifically, the combined effect of air pollution and low temperatures. Policies mitigating the effects of environmental risk factors should be implemented to prevent future excess mortality.