Impact Of Outdoor Air Pollution Research Articles

A spatial analysis of ozone and PM2.5 distribution for assessing design factors of healthy buildings

Indoor air quality (IAQ) represents one of the significant challenges in healthy building design, with thermal comfort and daylighting being primary design objectives. This study aims to demonstrate the potential of energy-independent building infrastructure as a passive design solution to mitigate the impact of outdoor air pollution. This paper presents experimental and numerical investigations to establish the relationship between design factors (e.g., building orientation, geometry, and window opening location) and the spatial distribution of ozone and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in residential houses. Our case study involves experimentally validated computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations for typical rowhouse archetypes in one of the United States' most polluted cities. Our findings indicate that higher ozone levels are observed on upper floors, posing a significant exposure risk at a breathing zone height of 1.7 m. In contrast, PM2.5 levels are most concerning at a height of 1 m, directly impacting children's health. Alarmingly, future trends of ozone pollution suggest that these risks could be almost three times higher compared to current conditions. Given the distinctive diurnal patterns of outdoor air pollution, the study also finds that the strategic placement of windows for nighttime air flushing, specifically in the upper two-thirds of the building, can improve IAQ. Our analysis of the spatial placement of the air purifier reveals that the optimal location is at the middle center of the windward wall. Our work underscores the potential of building design features in mitigating pollution exposure in indoor environments, emphasizing the importance of architectural solutions in public health.

Impact of outdoor air pollution on the incidence of pertussis in China: a time-series study

BackgroundThe increasing number of pertussis cases worldwide over the past two decades has challenged healthcare workers, and the role of environmental factors and climate change cannot be ignored. The incidence of pertussis has increased dramatically in mainland China since 2015, developing into a serious public health problem. The association of meteorological factors on pertussis has attracted attention, but few studies have examined the impact of air pollutants on this respiratory disease.MethodsIn this study, we analyzed the relationship between outdoor air pollution and the pertussis incidence. The study period was from January 2013 to December 2018, and monthly air pollutant data and the monthly incidence of patients in 31 provinces of China were collected. Distributed lag nonlinear model (DLNM) analysis was used to estimate the associations between six air pollutants and monthly pertussis incidence in China.ResultsWe found a correlation between elevated pertussis incidence and short-term high monthly CO2 and O3 exposure, with a 10 μg/m3 increase in NO2 and O3 being significantly associated with increased pertussis incidence, with RR values of 1.78 (95% CI: 1.29-2.46) and 1.51 (95% CI: 1.16-1.97) at a lag of 0 months, respectively. Moreover, PM2.5 and SO2 also played key roles in the risk of pertussis surged. These associations remain significant after adjusting for long-term trend, seasonality and collinearity.ConclusionsOverall, these data reinforce the evidence of a link between incidence and climate identified in regional and local studies. These findings also further support the hypothesis that air pollution is responsible for the global resurgence of pertussis. Based on this we suggest that public health workers should be encouraged to consider the risks of the environment when focusing on pertussis prevention and control.

A Review on the Impact of Outdoor Environment on Indoor Thermal Environment

Outdoor environment exchanges heat with indoor environment, enabling pollutants to infiltrate indoors, affecting buildings’ energy efficiency, comfort, and indoor air quality. Investigating the impact of the outdoor environment on the indoor thermal environment is crucial. Firstly, this paper reviews the coupling method to link the outdoor environment with the indoor environment. Secondly, it examines the impact of the outdoor physical environment, including neighboring buildings, greening, road surface, water body, and sky, on the indoor thermal environment. During the hottest summer, an increase of 17% in trees can reduce indoor temperature by 1.1 °C. Thirdly, the impact of weather conditions, including outdoor temperature, outdoor humidity, external wind, global warming, extreme weather conditions, and solar radiation, on the indoor thermal environment is studied. Due to global warming, cooling energy consumption and heating energy consumption in 2050 could increase by 223% to 1050%, and heating demand could decrease by 36% to 58%. Finally, the impact of outdoor air pollution on indoor environment and energy consumption is analyzed. For every 75 μg/m3 increase in PM2.5 concentration, average power consumption could increase by 11.2%. Recommendations for future research are provided. This study contributes to the understanding of the outdoor–indoor thermal relationship and offers insights into enhancing indoor thermal comfort and reducing building energy consumption.

Impact of outdoor air pollution on severity and mortality in COVID-19 pneumonia

The relationship between exposure to air pollution and the severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia and other outcomes is poorly understood. Beyond age and comorbidity, risk factors for adverse outcomes including death have been poorly studied. The main objective of our study was to examine the relationship between exposure to outdoor air pollution and the risk of death in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia using individual-level data. The secondary objective was to investigate the impact of air pollutants on gas exchange and systemic inflammation in this disease. This cohort study included 1548 patients hospitalised for COVID-19 pneumonia between February and May 2020 in one of four hospitals. Local agencies supplied daily data on environmental air pollutants (PM10, PM2.5, O3, NO2, NO and NOX) and meteorological conditions (temperature and humidity) in the year before hospital admission (from January 2019 to December 2019). Daily exposure to pollution and meteorological conditions by individual postcode of residence was estimated using geospatial Bayesian generalised additive models. The influence of air pollution on pneumonia severity was studied using generalised additive models which included: age, sex, Charlson comorbidity index, hospital, average income, air temperature and humidity, and exposure to each pollutant. Additionally, generalised additive models were generated for exploring the effect of air pollution on C-reactive protein (CRP) level and SpO2/FiO2 at admission. According to our results, both risk of COVID-19 death and CRP level increased significantly with median exposure to PM10, NO2, NO and NOX, while higher exposure to NO2, NO and NOX was associated with lower SpO2/FiO2 ratios. In conclusion, after controlling for socioeconomic, demographic and health-related variables, we found evidence of a significant positive relationship between air pollution and mortality in patients hospitalised for COVID-19 pneumonia. Additionally, inflammation (CRP) and gas exchange (SpO2/FiO2) in these patients were significantly related to exposure to air pollution.

Influence of outdoor air pollution on European residential ventilative cooling potential

Residential ventilative cooling via natural ventilation is influenced by outdoor air pollution. However, relative to climate, outdoor air pollution is not comprehensively considered in determining the ventilative cooling potential of buildings. To assess the impact of outdoor air pollution on ventilative cooling potential, we coupled a longitudinal dataset of five outdoor air pollutants from 26 European cities with building energy simulations. We explored the importance of climate, five outdoor air pollutants, urbanization level (Urban vs Suburban), and proximity to traffic (Traffic vs Background). We found that ventilative cooling remains an effective strategy for passive cooling, as it was able to reduce the cooling demand by 17–100% depending on local climate and air pollution. Urban air pollution reduced the ventilative cooling potential across Europe on average by 24%. The reduction varied within cities – 13% for Suburban Background, 24% for Urban Background, 19% for Suburban Traffic, and 44% for Urban Traffic locations. PM2.5 and PM10 were the main limiting factors for the ventilative cooling in all location types, whereas O3 and NO2 were critical in the Background and Traffic locations accordingly. These results can be utilized by building designers, operators and other stakeholders to maximize the application of ventilative cooling in buildings.

Association between outdoor air pollution and chronic rhinosinusitis patient reported outcomes

BackgroundThe aetiology of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is multifactorial with a complex interplay between environmental, microbial endogenous and genetic factors. The impact of outdoor air pollution on prevalence or severity of CRS remains largely unknown.MethodsReal-life geolocation data (2017–2018, Belgium) from 278 CRS patients (2576 health records) using the mySinusitisCoach mobile application were analysed to calculate the patients’ individual exposure to outdoor air pollutants (ozone (O3), black carbon (BC), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter with diameter < 2.5 μm (PM2.5)) and to associate these pollutants with the patients’ sinus related symptoms measured at multiple occasions by visual analogue scale (VAS).ResultsThe adjusted seasonal model for the spring–summer (n = 1000 health entries, N = 83 patients) population revealed an increase of 6.07 (p < 0.0001) in overall CRS symptom scoring for an interquartile range (IQR) increase in exposure to O3 (26.9 μg/m3). An increase of 1.69 (p = 0.05) in total CRS symptom scoring was observed for an IQR increase of PM2.5 (7.1 µg/m3) exposure. Sex-stratified analysis in the spring–summer population showed significant interaction between air pollution and sex with male patients having higher total CRS symptom scores for an IQR increase in exposure to PM2.5 (3.52, p = 0.001), and O3 (8.33, p < 0.0001), while no significant association with symptom severity was seen in the female patients. In the analysis stratified by comorbid asthma, CRS patients with comorbid asthma had higher total CRS symptoms for an IQR increase in exposure to PM2.5 (2.58, p = 0.04) and O3 (7.72, p < 0.0001) while the patients without comorbid asthma had no significant symptom increases.ConclusionExposure to outdoor air pollution is associated with increased symptom severity in CRS patients. The extent to which CRS patients are sensitive to outdoor air pollution exposure varies per season and depends on their sex and comorbid asthma status. mHealth technology has the potential to reveal novel insights on the patients’ exposome and disease severity in the real-life situation.

Individual-level interventions to reduce personal exposure to outdoor air pollution and their effects on people with long-term respiratory conditions.

Individual-level interventions to reduce personal exposure to outdoor air pollution and their effects on people with long-term respiratory conditions.

The impact of outdoor air pollution on COVID-19: a review of evidence from in vitro, animal, and human studies

The impact of outdoor air pollution on COVID-19: a review of evidence from in vitro, animal, and human studies

The impact of outdoor air pollution on COVID-19: a review of evidence from in vitro, animal, and human studies.

Studies have pointed out that air pollution may be a contributing factor to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. However, the specific links between air pollution and severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 infection remain unclear. Here we provide evidence from in vitro, animal and human studies from the existing literature. Epidemiological investigations have related various air pollutants to COVID-19 morbidity and mortality at the population level, however, those studies suffer from several limitations. Air pollution may be linked to an increase in COVID-19 severity and lethality through its impact on chronic diseases, such as cardiopulmonary diseases and diabetes. Experimental studies have shown that exposure to air pollution leads to a decreased immune response, thus facilitating viral penetration and replication. Viruses may persist in air through complex interactions with particles and gases depending on: 1) chemical composition; 2) electric charges of particles; and 3) meteorological conditions such as relative humidity, ultraviolet (UV) radiation and temperature. In addition, by reducing UV radiation, air pollutants may promote viral persistence in air and reduce vitamin D synthesis. Further epidemiological studies are needed to better estimate the impact of air pollution on COVID-19. In vitro and in vivo studies are also strongly needed, in particular to more precisely explore the particle–virus interaction in air.

Outdoor air pollution and respiratory health: a bibliometric analysis of publications in peer-reviewed journals (1900 – 2017)

Background: Outdoor air pollution is a major threat to global public health that needs responsible participation of researchers at all levels. Assessing research output is an important step in highlighting national and international contribution and collaboration in a certain field. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze globally-published literature in outdoor air pollution – related respiratory health.&#x0D; Method: Outdoor air pollution documents related to respiratory health were retrieved from Scopus database. The study period was up to 2017. Mapping of author keywords was carried out using VOSviewer 1.6.6.&#x0D; Results: Search query yielded 3635 documents with an h-index of 137. There was a dramatic increase in the number of publications in the last decade of the study period. The most frequently encountered author keywords were: air pollution (835 occurrences), asthma (502 occurrences), particulate matter (198 occurrences), and children (203 occurrences). The United States of America ranked first (1082; 29.8%) followed by the United Kingdom (279; 7. 7%) and Italy (198; 5.4%). Annual research productivity stratified by income and population size indicated that China ranked first (22.2) followed by the USA (18.8). Analysis of regional distribution of publications indicated that the Mediterranean, African, and South-East Asia regions had the least contribution. Harvard University (92; 2.5%) was the most active institution/organization followed the US Environmental Protection Agency (89; 2.4%). International collaboration was restricted to three regions: Northern America, Europe, and Asia. The top ten preferred journals were in the field of environmental health and respiratory health. Environmental Health Perspective was the most preferred journal for publishing documents in outdoor pollution in relation to respiratory health.&#x0D; Conclusion: Research on the impact of outdoor air pollution on respiratory health had accelerated lately and is receiving a lot of interest. Global research networks that include countries with high level of pollution and limited resources are highly needed to create public opinion in favor of minimizing outdoor air pollution and investing in green technologies.

Exposure to outdoor air pollution and its human-related health outcomes: an evidence gap map

ObjectivesOutdoor air pollution is a serious environmental problem worldwide. Current systematic reviews (SRs) and meta-analyses (MAs) mostly focused on some specific health outcomes or some specific air pollution.DesignThis evidence gap...

Impact of Outdoor Air Pollution on Indoor Air Quality in Low-Income Homes during Wildfire Seasons.

Indoor and outdoor number concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), black carbon (BC), carbon monoxide (CO), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) were monitored continuously for two to seven days in 28 low-income homes in Denver, Colorado, during the 2016 and 2017 wildfire seasons. In the absence of indoor sources, all outdoor pollutant concentrations were higher than indoors except for CO. Results showed that long-range wildfire plumes elevated median indoor PM2.5 concentrations by up to 4.6 times higher than outdoors. BC, CO, and NO2 mass concentrations were higher indoors in homes closer to roadways compared to those further away. Four of the homes with mechanical ventilation systems had 18% higher indoor/outdoor (I/O) ratios of PM2.5 and 4% higher I/O ratios of BC compared to other homes. Homes with exhaust stove hoods had PM2.5 I/O ratios 49% less than the homes with recirculating hoods and 55% less than the homes with no stove hoods installed. Homes with windows open for more than 12 hours a day during sampling had indoor BC 2.4 times higher than homes with windows closed. This study provides evidence that long-range wildfire plumes, road proximity, and occupant behavior have a combined effect on indoor air quality in low-income homes.

Influence of Particulate Matter during Seasonal Smog on Quality of Life and Lung Function in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

The impact of outdoor air pollution on the quality of life (QoL) of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients, as measured by the COPD assessment test (CAT) questionnaire, is limited. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of a short-term increase in outdoor particulate matter in which the particles are less than 10 microns in diameter (PM10) during a seasonal smog period on QoL, symptoms, and lung function in COPD patients. This prospective observational study was conducted at Chiang Dao Hospital, Chiang Mai, Thailand between March and August 2016. Measurement of QoL, severity of dyspnea, forced vital capacity (FVC), and forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1) were performed at both high and low PM10 periods. Fifty-nine patients met the inclusion criteria for enrollment into the study, with the mean age being 71.5 ± 8.0 years. Total CAT score, but not mMRC score, was statistically higher during the high PM10 period. The two lung function parameters, FVC and FEV1, were significantly lower at the high PM10 compared to the low PM10 period. We concluded that exposure to PM10 during the seasonal smog period resulted in short-term negative impact on the quality of life and lung function in COPD patients.

Postnatal Exposure of PM10 and Autistic Behaviours among Children: The Mothers and Children's Environmental Health (MOCEH) Study

Background/AimEnvironmental factors may play a role in the development of neurodevelopment and some studies have shown that ambient air pollution is associated with the autistic behaviours. The study was designed to investigate the impact of outdoor air pollution on autistic behaviours among children at 4, 5 years of age in Korea by using MOCEH cohort study's data.MethodsThis study is a part of the Mothers and Children's Environmental Health (MOCEH) study, a Korean multi-center prospective birth cohort study initiated in 2006. After delivery, children were followed up at 48 and 60 months of age. Average exposure level of particulate matter (PM10) were estimated using the inverse distance weighting (IDW) method from prenatal period to postnatal period. A total of 322 mother-child pairs were included. Autistic behaviours were assessed using the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) at 4, 5 years of age. We also examined the result stratified by sex of the children.ResultsThe average levels of PM10 during pregnancy and 3 years of age were 54.07&amp;#956;g/m3 and 50.08&amp;#956;g/m3 each. In a multiple linear regression model, although we couldn&amp;#8217;t find significant positive relationship between exposure of PM10 in children, we found that PM10 at 3 years of age was associated with increased scores of SRS T-scores at 5 years of age in boys. (&amp;#946;&amp;#61;0.36, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.05,0.66) However, there was no significant positive association in girls.ConclusionsIn conclusions, postnatal exposure of PM10 is associated with the autistic behaviours, in boys at 4, 5 years of age. Further study on the other air pollutants effects to autistic behaviours in children is recommended.

Quantitative health impact assessment of outdoor air pollution in the Arve valley, France

Introduction Health impacts of outdoor air pollution are a major concern in the Arve Valley located in the Alps. This valley is a mixed area, gathering 154,000 inhabitants in dense urban settings with a broad range of human activities, including tourisms and large natural spaces. The valley is surrounded by mountain massifs, and segmented by a series of bottlenecks that perturb air circulation. The valley is also the entry point of the tunnel under Mont Blanc with high levels of traffic. This topography, the concentrations of air pollutants sources in a restricted area, and the frequency of cold temperature inversions common in the valley during winter time, result in an exceeding of air quality target values for several pollutants. This situation has led some local stakeholders to claim that the valley was one of the most polluted areas in France and several non-governmental associations to ask for a better air quality. Method A quantitative health impact assessment (HIA) was conducted to help local stakeholders measure the expected benefits of improving air quality. It evaluated the effects of chronic exposure to fine particles (PM2.5) on mortality and life expectancy. Annual mean concentrations of fine particles from a fine-scale environmental model were coupled with land-occupancy data to estimate population exposure in 2007–2008 in the 41 municipalities affected by the atmospheric protection plan. The health benefits associated with several scenarios of improved air quality were computed based on a relative risk derived from European and French cohorts. Results The study shows that 8% of the mortality in the Arve Valley could be attributable to chronic exposure to PM2.5, representing 85 deaths per year. These results can be compared with the French nationwide estimate that on average PM2.5 contributed to 9% of the mortality, 8% in urban areas between 20,000 and 100,000 inhabitants, and 13% in urban areas larger than 100,000 inhabitants. A 30% reduction of average annual concentrations of PM2.5 would lead to a 4% decrease in mortality, representing 45 deaths avoided per year, and 967 life-years gained on average, or 5 months of life expectancy at 30 years. The qualitative analysis of uncertainties suggests an underestimation of health impacts, this quantitative HIA having provided a minimum scale of magnitude of the impact. The spatial and temporal heterogeneity of the exposition of the population in the Arve valley result in lower annual mean than in urban settings where concentrations are less influenced by meteorological conditions. This HIA does not take into account the wide range of possible health benefits in terms of avoided mortality and morbidity. Conclusions The study, based on an innovative method used for the first time in such an heterogeneous area, shows the large impact of outdoor air pollution on health in the Arve valley. This impact is similar to the one observed in French metropolitan areas between 20,000 and 100,000 inhabitants, without reaching the level found in the most polluted urban areas. In a context of acute debate, HIA is an efficient tool to provide comprehensive figures and to promote public interventions. Given the seasonality of the PM concentrations, actions should primarily target winter sources, especially residential wood-burning. Examples from the literature document that rapid and measurable health benefits were observed after interventions targeting biomass burning in similar context of residential wood-burning in valleys with common wintertime temperature inversions. Those long-term interventions should not prevent for immediate actions in case of acute episodes, involving the punctual reduction of some emissions sources, and information to protect the most vulnerable populations.

Outdoor air pollution and respiratory health: a bibliometric analysis of publications in peer-reviewed journals (1900 \u2013 2017)

BackgroundOutdoor air pollution is a major threat to global public health that needs responsible participation of researchers at all levels. Assessing research output is an important step in highlighting national and international contribution and collaboration in a certain field. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze globally-published literature in outdoor air pollution – related respiratory health.MethodOutdoor air pollution documents related to respiratory health were retrieved from Scopus database. The study period was up to 2017. Mapping of author keywords was carried out using VOSviewer 1.6.6.ResultsSearch query yielded 3635 documents with an h-index of 137. There was a dramatic increase in the number of publications in the last decade of the study period. The most frequently encountered author keywords were: air pollution (835 occurrences), asthma (502 occurrences), particulate matter (198 occurrences), and children (203 occurrences). The United States of America ranked first (1082; 29.8%) followed by the United Kingdom (279; 7.7%) and Italy (198; 5.4%). Annual research productivity stratified by income and population size indicated that China ranked first (22.2) followed by the USA (18.8). Analysis of regional distribution of publications indicated that the Mediterranean, African, and South-East Asia regions had the least contribution. Harvard University (92; 2.5%) was the most active institution/organization followed the US Environmental Protection Agency (89; 2.4%). International collaboration was restricted to three regions: Northern America, Europe, and Asia. The top ten preferred journals were in the field of environmental health and respiratory health. Environmental Health Perspective was the most preferred journal for publishing documents in outdoor pollution in relation to respiratory health.ConclusionResearch on the impact of outdoor air pollution on respiratory health had accelerated lately and is receiving a lot of interest. Global research networks that include countries with high level of pollution and limited resources are highly needed to create public opinion in favor of minimizing outdoor air pollution and investing in green technologies.

Fine particulate pollution and asthma exacerbations

ObjectiveAs the results from epidemiological studies about the impact of outdoor air pollution on asthma in children are heterogeneous, our objective was to investigate the association between asthma exacerbation in...

Linked Data Analytics in Interdisciplinary Studies: The Health Impact of Air Pollution in Urban Areas

The design of solutions that are able to exploit the available data collected in smart cities environments can lead to insights that can guide the implementation of approaches that have the potential to significantly improve the quality of life within a city. Such solutions include tools for the production of advanced analytics considering data fusion challenges. The preparation of qualitative input data sets, collected in many cases through heterogeneous sources and represented in various formats, constitute a very important step toward a meaningful analysis. Such input data sets, combined with approaches that reduce the data processing burden and support the easy and flexible—in terms of configuration-replication of an analysis, can lead to the next generation analytics tools. In this paper, a novel approach toward the production and consumption of linked data analytics in urban environments is presented. The approach is based on the exploitation of linked data principles, enhancing the ability of managing and processing of data, in ways not available before. In addition to the description of the overall technical approach, the application of the proposed solution into a real-life scenario for examining the health impact of outdoor air pollution in urban areas within an international, national, and regional perspective is detailed. A set of interesting results are produced along with their interpretation toward the provision of suggestions for policy making purposes.

Health Impact Assessment Of PM2.5 And NO2 In Italy. The Viias National Study

Objective: We estimated the avoidable impact of outdoor air pollution on mortality in Italy comparing a 2020 scenario based on the National Energy Strategy (NES) and a target scenario based on the ...

Public-health impact of outdoor air pollution for 2(nd) air pollution management policy in Seoul metropolitan area, Korea.

ObjectivesAir pollution contributes to mortality and morbidity. We estimated the impact of outdoor air pollution on public health in Seoul metropolitan area, Korea. Attributable cases of morbidity and mortality were estimated.MethodsEpidemiology-based exposure-response functions for a 10 μg/m3 increase in particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) were used to quantify the effects of air pollution. Cases attributable to air pollution were estimated for mortality (adults ≥ 30 years), respiratory and cardiovascular hospital admissions (all ages), chronic bronchitis (all ages), and acute bronchitis episodes (≤18 years). Environmental exposure (PM2.5 and PM10) was modeled for each 3 km × 3 km.ResultsIn 2010, air pollution caused 15.9% of total mortality or approximately 15,346 attributable cases per year. Particulate air pollution also accounted for: 12,511 hospitalized cases of respiratory disease; 20,490 new cases of chronic bronchitis (adults); 278,346 episodes of acute bronchitis (children). After performing the 2nd Seoul metropolitan air pollution management plan, the reducible death number associated with air pollution is 14,915 cases per year in 2024. We can reduce 57.9% of death associated with air pollution.ConclusionThis assessment estimates the public-health impacts of current patterns of air pollution. Although individual health risks of air pollution are relatively small, the public-health consequences are remarkable. Particulate air pollution remains a key target for public-health action in the Seoul metropolitan area. Our results, which have also been used for economic valuation, should guide decisions on the assessment of environmental health-policy options.