Health Effects Of Long-term Exposure Research Articles

Long-Term Exposure to Ambient Ozone and Mortality in Korea: A 12-Year Nationwide Cohort Study

Background/Aim: Although there is strong evidence that short-term exposure to ozone is associated with adverse health outcomes, the effects of long-term exposure to ozone have not been well studied. Investigating the health effects of long-term exposure to ozone is important in terms of climate change, disease burden and public health policy. In this study, we assessed the relationship between long-term exposure to ambient ozone and mortality in Korea, using a nationwide population-based cohort. Methods: Mortality data were obtained from National Sample Cohort (2002-2013) in Korea. Several ozone exposure matrices were calculated for each district in 7 major cities, and matched with the cohort data. The final study sample consisted of 212,315 individuals (2,047,103 person-year). Cox-proportional hazard regression model was used to estimate the effects of both fixed and time-dependent exposure of ozone on mortality. Results: Both fixed and time-dependent ozone exposures were associated with all-cause and cause-specific mortality. The association with respiratory mortality was relatively large. The hazard ratios for respiratory mortality in association with 1 ppb increase in ozone (24-hr annual mean) were: 1.027 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.009, 1.045) for fixed baseline exposure; 1.038 (95% CI: 1.015, 1.061) and 1.028 (95% CI: 1.007, 1.051) for time-varying cumulative and yearly mean exposure, respectively. Inclusion of PM10 in the model did not considerably change the results. Conclusions: This study provides evidence on mortality effects of long-term exposure to ozone. The stronger association with respiratory mortality is consistent with previous studies, even though the effect sizes are relatively large. However, the paucity of independent studies regarding long-term ozone exposure and mortality, especially outside of the United States, limits the comparison of the present result with other studies.

Health effects of exposure to second- and third-hand marijuana smoke: a systematic review

Recreational marijuana has been legalized in 11 jurisdictions; Canada will legalize marijuana by July 2018. With this changing landscape, there is a need to understand the public health risks associated with marijuana to support patient-care provider conversations, harm-reduction measures and evidence-informed policy. The objective of this work was to summarize the health effects of exposure to second- and third-hand marijuana smoke. In this systematic review, we searched 6 databases from inception to October 2017. Abstract and full-text review was conducted in duplicate. Studies were included if they were human, in vivo or in vitro studies with more than 1 case reported in English or French, and reported original, quantitative data. Three outcomes were extracted: 1) cannabinoids and cannabinoid metabolites in bodily fluids, 2) self-reported psychoactive effects and 3) eye irritation and discomfort. Of the 1701 abstracts identified, 60 proceeded to full-text review; the final data set contained 15 articles. All of the included studies were of good to poor quality as assessed with the Downs and Black checklist. There is evidence of a direct relation between the tetrahydrocannabinol content of marijuana and effects on those passively exposed. This relation is mediated by several environmental factors including the amount of smoke, ventilation, air volume, number of marijuana cigarettes lit and number of smokers present. No evidence was identified assessing exposure to third-hand marijuana smoke or the health effects of long-term exposure. Exposure to second-hand marijuana smoke leads to cannabinoid metabolites in bodily fluids, and people experience psychoactive effects after such exposure. Alignment of tobacco and marijuana smoking bylaws may result in the most effective public policies. More research is required to understand the impact of exposure to third-hand smoke and the health effects of long-term exposure to second-hand smoke.

Development of land-use regression models for exposure assessment to ultrafine particles in Rome, Italy

The health effects of long-term exposure to ultrafine particles (UFPs) are poorly understood. Data on spatial contrasts in ambient ultrafine particles (UFPs) concentrations are needed with fine resolution. This study aimed to assess the spatial variability of total particle number concentrations (PNC, a proxy for UFPs) in the city of Rome, Italy, using land use regression (LUR) models, and the correspondent exposure of population here living. PNC were measured using condensation particle counters at the building facade of 28 homes throughout the city. Three 7-day monitoring periods were carried out during cold, warm and intermediate seasons. Geographic Information System predictor variables, with buffers of varying size, were evaluated to model spatial variations of PNC. A stepwise forward selection procedure was used to develop a “base” linear regression model according to the European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects project methodology. Other variables were then included in more enhanced models and their capability of improving model performance was evaluated. Four LUR models were developed. Local variation in UFPs in the study area can be largely explained by the ratio of traffic intensity and distance to the nearest major road. The best model (adjusted R2 = 0.71; root mean square error = ±1,572 particles/cm³, leave one out cross validated R2 = 0.68) was achieved by regressing building and street configuration variables against residual from the “base” model, which added 3% more to the total variance explained. Urban green and population density in a 5,000 m buffer around each home were also relevant predictors. The spatial contrast in ambient PNC across the large conurbation of Rome, was successfully assessed. The average exposure of subjects living in the study area was 16,006 particles/cm³ (SD 2165 particles/cm³, range: 11,075–28,632 particles/cm³). A total of 203,886 subjects (16%) lives in Rome within 50 m from a high traffic road and they experience the highest exposure levels (18,229 particles/cm³). The results will be used to estimate the long-term health effects of ultrafine particle exposure of participants in Rome.

Distributed-lag models of long-term health effects of exposure to industrial air pollution in the Taranto area (Southern Italy)

Distributed-lag models of long-term health effects of exposure to industrial air pollution in the Taranto area (Southern Italy)

Road traffic noise exposure in relation to waist circumference, diabetes and hypertension – A longitudinal study

Background: Recent studies indicate adverse health effects of long-term exposure to traffic-related noise, including cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Noise exposure may also result in annoyance and sleep disturbances as well as increased saliva cortisol levels, indicating physiological stress. There are, however, few longitudinal studies on chronic effects of exposure to traffic noise. Aim: This cohort study focused on the association between exposure to road traffic noise and change in waist circumference and development of type 2 diabetes and hypertension. Methods: The study included 5,249 men and women living in Stockholm County and followed from 1992 to 2006. Clinical examinations and questionnaires provided information on outcomes and confounders. Individual traffic noise exposure during follow-up was modeled for each participant using traffic characteristics at residential addresses. We used linear and logistic regression to assess associations between noise exposure and the different outcomes. Results: We found statistically significant associations at road traffic noise exposure above 60 dB Lden for change in waist circumference (+3.04 cm; 95% CI: 0.63-5.44) and hypertension (hazard ratio 2.75; 95% CI: 1.02-6.65) with adjustment for potential confounding factors. A similar tendency was seen for type 2 diabetes (HR 2.75; 95% CI 0.79-9.56). A clear exposure-response relation between noise exposure and waist circumference increase was observed (+0.46 cm per 10 dB; 95% CI 0.28-0.64); however, such a relation was not evident for a cumulative incidence of type 2 diabetes or hypertension. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that long-term exposure to road traffic noise is related to the development of waist circumference and hypertension, and possibly also to type 2 diabetes.

Traffic pollution and the incidence of cardiorespiratory outcomes in an adult cohort in London

ObjectivesThe epidemiological evidence for adverse health effects of long-term exposure to air and noise pollution from traffic is not coherent. Further, the relative roles of background versus near traffic pollution...

Pollution of PM10 in an underground enclosed loading dock in Malaysia

The enclosed nature of underground loading docks results in accumulation of motor vehicles emissions. Thus, concentration of numerous harmful air pollutants including PM10 particles can increase and reach dangerous levels. This paper aims to study short-term and long-term exposure of PM10 particles inside an underground loading dock located in Malaysia. In addition, the correlation with indoor temperature, relative humidity and vehicles flow will be measured. The concentrations of PM10 were measured for three consecutive weeks using the real-time air quality monitoring instrument AQM60. Series of statistical tests and multiple linear regression analysis were applied on the data using SPSS software and MATLAB R2013a. The results illustrated that PM10 daily average concentration was in compliance with the Malaysian guideline of 150 µg/m3. Actually, 95% of instantaneous PM10 concentration readings were below 75 μg/m3. In addition, significant correlation were found between PM10 concentration and indoor temperature, relative humidity and the previous concentration. The multiple R and R2 were 0.91 and 0.83, respectively. PM10 concentration was also correlated with motor vehicles flow. In conclusion, health effects of long-term exposure to small repetitive doses of air pollutant inside underground facilities should be studied and appropriate control measures need to be implemented.

A Conceptual Framework for the Assessment of Cumulative Exposure to Air Pollution at a Fine Spatial Scale.

Many epidemiological studies examining long-term health effects of exposure to air pollutants have characterized exposure by the outdoor air concentrations at sites that may be distant to subjects’ residences at different points in time. The temporal and spatial mobility of subjects and the spatial scale of exposure assessment could thus lead to misclassification in the cumulative exposure estimation. This paper attempts to fill the gap regarding cumulative exposure assessment to air pollution at a fine spatial scale in epidemiological studies investigating long-term health effects. We propose a conceptual framework showing how major difficulties in cumulative long-term exposure assessment could be surmounted. We then illustrate this conceptual model on the case of exposure to NO2 following two steps: (i) retrospective reconstitution of NO2 concentrations at a fine spatial scale; and (ii) a novel approach to assigning the time-relevant exposure estimates at the census block level, using all available data on residential mobility throughout a 10- to 20-year period prior to that for which the health events are to be detected. Our conceptual framework is both flexible and convenient for the needs of different epidemiological study designs.

Tissue distribution patterns of solubilized metals from internalized tungsten alloy in the F344 rat

Because of its unique physical and chemical properties, tungsten has been increasingly utilized in a variety of civilian and military applications. This expanded use also raises the risk of human exposure through internalization by various routes. In most cases the toxicological and carcinogenic properties of these tungsten-based compounds are not known nor are the dissolution biokinetics and ultimate fate of the associated metals. Using a laboratory rodent model system designed to assess the health effects of embedded metals, and a tungsten alloy comprised of tungsten (91.1%), nickel (6.0%), and cobalt (2.9%), we investigated the tissue distribution patterns of the metals over a six month period. Despite its perceived insolubility, tungsten rapidly solubilized from the implanted metal fragments, as did nickel and cobalt. All three metals distributed systemically over time with extremely elevated levels of all three metals found in kidney, liver, and spleen. Unexpectedly, tungsten was found to cross the blood-brain and blood-testis barriers and localize in those tissues. These results, along with recent reports suggesting that tungsten is a tumor promoter, raises serious concerns as to the long-term health effects of exposure to tungsten and tungsten-based compounds.

Long-Term Effects of Exposure to Ionizing Irradiation on Periodontal Health Status - The Tinea capitis Cohort Study.

Studies among long-term survivors of childhood cancer who had received high-dose irradiation therapy of 4–60 Gy, demonstrated acute and chronic dental effects, including periodontal diseases. However, the possible effects of low to moderate doses of radiation on dental health are sparse. The aim of this study is to investigate the association between childhood exposure to low–moderate doses of ionizing radiation and periodontal health following 50 years since exposure. The study population included 253 irradiated subjects (treated for Tinea capitis in the 1950s) and, 162 non-irradiated subjects. The estimated dose to the teeth was 0.2–0.4 Gy. Dental examination was performed according to the community periodontal index (CPI). Socioeconomic and health behavior variables were obtained through a personal questionnaire. Periodontal disease was operationally defined as “deep periodontal pockets.” A multivariate logistic regression model was used for the association of irradiation status and other independent variables with periodontal status. The results showed that among the irradiated subjects, 23%, (95% CI 18–28%) demonstrated complete edentulousness or insufficient teeth for CPI scoring as compared to 13% (95% CI 8–19%) among the non-irradiated subjects (p = 0.01). Periodontal disease was detected among 54% of the irradiated subjects as compared to 40% of the non-irradiated (p = 0.008). Controlling for education and smoking, the ORs for the association between radiation and periodontal disease were 1.61 (95% CI 1.01–2.57) and 1.95 (95% CI 1.1–3.5) for ever never and per 1 Gy absorbed in the salivary gland, respectively. In line with other studies, a protective effect for periodontal diseases among those with high education and an increased risk for ever smokers were observed. In conclusion, childhood exposure to low-moderate doses of ionizing radiation might be associated with later outcomes of dental health. The results add valuable data on the long-term health effects of exposure to ionizing radiation and support the implementation of the ALARA principle in childhood exposure to diagnostic procedure involving radiation.

Long-term traffic air and noise pollution in relation to mortality and hospital readmission among myocardial infarction survivors.

There is relatively little evidence of health effects of long-term exposure to traffic-related pollution in susceptible populations. We investigated whether long-term exposure to traffic air and noise pollution was associated with all-cause mortality or hospital readmission for myocardial infarction (MI) among survivors of hospital admission for MI. Patients from the Myocardial Ischaemia National Audit Project database resident in Greater London (n = 1 8,138) were followed for death or readmission for MI. High spatially-resolved annual average air pollution (11 metrics of primary traffic, regional or urban background) derived from a dispersion model (resolution 20 m × 20 m) and road traffic noise for the years 2003-2010 were used to assign exposure at residence. Hazard ratios (HR, 95% confidence interval (CI)) were estimated using Cox proportional hazards models. Most air pollutants were positively associated with all-cause mortality alone and in combination with hospital readmission. The largest associations with mortality per interquartile range (IQR) increase of pollutant were observed for non-exhaust particulate matter (PM(10)) (HR = 1.05 (95% CI 1.00, 1.10), IQR = 1.1 μg/m(3)); oxidant gases (HR = 1.05 (95% CI 1.00, 1.09), IQR = 3.2 μg/m(3)); and the coarse fraction of PM (HR = 1.05 (95% CI 1.00, 1.10), IQR = 0.9 μg/m(3)). Adjustment for traffic noise only slightly attenuated these associations. The association for a 5 dB increase in road-traffic noise with mortality was HR = 1.02 (95% CI 0.99, 1.06) independent of air pollution. These data support a relationship of primary traffic and regional/urban background air pollution with poor prognosis among MI survivors. Although imprecise, traffic noise appeared to have a modest association with prognosis independent of air pollution.

Urinary Cotinine Levels Among Latino Tobacco Farmworkers in North Carolina Compared to Latinos Not Employed in Agriculture.

This analysis describes urinary cotinine levels of North Carolina Latino farmworkers, compares cotinine levels of farmworkers to those of Latinos non-farmworkers, determines factors associated with farmworker cotinine levels, and determines if differences in farmworker and non-farmworker cotinine levels are associated with smoking. Data are from 63 farmworkers and 44 non-farmworkers who participated in a larger study of occupational exposures. Questionnaire data and urine samples collected in 2012 and 2013 are analyzed. Farmworkers had urinary cotinine levels that were far greater than the non-farmworker group. Geometric mean (GM) urinary cotinine levels for farmworkers were 1808.22ng/ml in 2012, and 396.03ng/ml in 2013; corresponding GM levels for non-farmworkers were 4.68ng/ml and 9.03ng/ml. Farmworker GM cotinine levels were associated with harvesting tobacco (1242.77ng/ml vs. 471.26ng/ml; P = .0048), and working in wet shoes (1356.41ng/ml vs. 596.93ng/ml; P = .0148). Smoking did not account for cotinine level differences; the GM cotinine level for farmworkers who did not smoke was 541.31ng/ml; it was 199.40ng/ml for non-farmworkers who did smoke. North Carolina farmworkers experience large nicotine doses. The long-term health effects of these doses are not known. Although procedures to reduce occupational nicotine exposure are known, no changes in work practices or in policies to protect workers have been implemented. Research on the health effects of occupational nicotine exposure must become a priority. Current knowledge of occupational transdermal nicotine exposure must be used to improve occupational safety practice and policy for tobacco workers. This study documents the heavy burden of nicotine exposure and dose experienced by tobacco workers in North Carolina. Hundreds of thousands of farmworkers and farmers in the United States and Canada, as well as agricultural workers around the world, share this burden of nicotine exposure and dose. These results support the need to change work practices and regulations to protect workers. They also document the need to delineate the health effects of long-term exposure to high transdermal nicotine doses.

Land Use Regression Models for Ultrafine Particles and Black Carbon Based on Short-Term Monitoring Predict Past Spatial Variation.

Health effects of long-term exposure to ultrafine particles (UFP) have not been investigated in epidemiological studies because of the lack of spatially resolved UFP exposure data. Short-term monitoring campaigns used to develop land use regression (LUR) models for UFP typically had moderate performance. The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate spatial and spatiotemporal LUR models for UFP and Black Carbon (BC), including their ability to predict past spatial contrasts. We measured 30 min at each of 81 sites in Amsterdam and 80 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands in three different seasons. Models were developed using traffic, land use, reference site measurements, routinely measured pollutants and weather data. The percentage explained variation (R(2)) was 0.35-0.40 for BC and 0.33-0.42 for UFP spatial models. Traffic variables were present in every model. The coefficients for the spatial predictors were similar in spatial and spatiotemporal models. The BC LUR model explained 61% of the spatial variation in a previous campaign with longer sampling duration, better than the model R(2). The UFP LUR model explained 36% of UFP spatial variation measured 10 years earlier, similar to the model R(2). Short-term monitoring campaigns may be an efficient tool to develop LUR models.

Land use regression models for crustal and traffic-related PM2.5 constituents in four areas of the SAPALDIA study

Many studies have documented adverse health effects of long-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), but there is still limited knowledge regarding the causal relationship between specific sources of PM2.5 and such health effects. The spatial variability of PM2.5 constituents and sources, as a exposure assessment strategy for investigating source contributions to health effects, has been little explored so far.Between 2011 and 2012, three measurement campaigns of PM and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) were performed in 80 sites across four areas of the Swiss Study on Air Pollution and Lung and heart Diseases in Adults (SAPALDIA). Reflectance analysis and energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (XRF) were performed on PM2.5 filter samples to estimate light absorbance and trace element concentrations, respectively. Three air pollution source factors were identified using principal-component factor analysis: vehicular, crustal, and long-range transport. Land use regression (LUR) models were developed for temporally-adjusted scores of each factor, combining the four study areas. Model performance was assessed using two cross-validation methods.Model explained variance was high for the vehicular factor (R2=0.76), moderate for the crustal factor (R2=0.46), and low for the long-range transport factor (R2=0.19). The cross-validation methods suggested that models for the vehicular and crustal factors moderately accounted for both the between and within-area variability, and therefore can be applied to the four study areas to estimate long-term exposures within the SAPALDIA study population.The combination of source apportionment techniques and LUR modelling may help in identifying air pollution sources and disentangling their contribution to observed health effects in epidemiologic studies.

Thyroid Cancer Study among Ukrainian Children Exposed to Radiation after the Chornobyl Accident

In collaboration with the Ukrainian Research Center for Radiation Medicine, the U.S. National Cancer Institute initiated a cohort study of children and adolescents exposed to Chornobyl fallout in Ukraine to better understand the long-term health effects of exposure to radioactive iodines. All 13,204 cohort members were subjected to at least one direct thyroid measurement between 30 April and 30 June 1986 and resided at the time of the accident in the northern parts of Kyiv, Zhytomyr, or Chernihiv Oblasts, which were the most contaminated territories of Ukraine as a result of radioactive fallout from the Chornobyl accident. Thyroid doses for the cohort members, which had been estimated following the first round of interviews, were re-evaluated following the second round of interviews. The revised thyroid doses range from 0.35 mGy to 42 Gy, with 95% of the doses between 1 mGy and 4.2 Gy, an arithmetic mean of 0.65 Gy, and a geometric mean of 0.19 Gy. These means are 70% of the previous estimates, mainly because of the use of country-specific thyroid masses. Many of the individual thyroid dose estimates show substantial differences because of the use of an improved questionnaire for the second round of interviews. Limitations of the current set of thyroid dose estimates are discussed. For the epidemiologic study, the most notable improvement is a revised assessment of the uncertainties, as shared and unshared uncertainties in the parameter values were considered in the calculation of the 1,000 stochastic estimates of thyroid dose for each cohort member. This procedure makes it possible to perform a more realistic risk analysis.

Long-term epigenetic effects of exposure to low doses of 56Fe in the mouse lung

Despite significant progress, the long-term health effects of exposure to high charge (Z) and energy (E) nuclei (HZEs) and the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Mouse studies show that space missions can result in pulmonary pathological states. The goal of this study was to evaluate the pro-fibrotic and pro-carcinogenic effects of exposure to low doses of heavy iron ions (56Fe) in the mouse lung. Exposure to 56Fe (600 MeV; 0.1, 0.2 and 0.4 Gy) resulted in minor pro-fibrotic changes, detected at the beginning of the fibrotic phase (22 weeks post exposure), which were exhibited as increased expression of chemokine Ccl3, and interleukin Il4. Epigenetic alterations were exhibited as global DNA hypermethylation, observed after exposure to 0.4 Gy. Cadm1, Cdh13, Cdkn1c, Mthfr and Sfrp1 were significantly hypermethylated after exposure to 0.1 Gy, while exposure to higher doses resulted in hypermethylation of Cdkn1c only. However, expression of these genes was not affected by any dose. Congruently with the observed patterns of global DNA methylation, DNA repetitive elements were hypermethylated after exposure to 0.4 Gy, with minor changes observed after exposure to lower doses. Importantly, hypermethylation of repetitive elements coincided with their transcriptional repression. The findings of this study will aid in understanding molecular determinants of pathological states associated with exposure to 56Fe, as well as serve as robust biomarkers for the delayed effects of irradiation. Further studies are clearly needed to investigate the persistence and outcomes of molecular alterations long term after exposure.

Long-term exposure to elemental constituents of particulate matter and cardiovascular mortality in 19 European cohorts: Results from the ESCAPE and TRANSPHORM projects

BackgroundAssociations between long-term exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM) and cardiovascular (CVD) mortality have been widely recognized. However, health effects of long-term exposure to constituents of PM on total CVD mortality have been explored in a single study only. AimsThe aim of this study was to examine the association of PM composition with cardiovascular mortality. MethodsWe used data from 19 European ongoing cohorts within the framework of the ESCAPE (European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects) and TRANSPHORM (Transport related Air Pollution and Health impacts — Integrated Methodologies for Assessing Particulate Matter) projects. Residential annual average exposure to elemental constituents within particle matter smaller than 2.5 and 10μm (PM2.5 and PM10) was estimated using Land Use Regression models. Eight elements representing major sources were selected a priori (copper, iron, potassium, nickel, sulfur, silicon, vanadium and zinc). Cohort-specific analyses were conducted using Cox proportional hazards models with a standardized protocol. Random-effects meta-analysis was used to calculate combined effect estimates. ResultsThe total population consisted of 322,291 participants, with 9545 CVD deaths. We found no statistically significant associations between any of the elemental constituents in PM2.5 or PM10 and CVD mortality in the pooled analysis. Most of the hazard ratios (HRs) were close to unity, e.g. for PM10 Fe the combined HR was 0.96 (0.84–1.09). Elevated combined HRs were found for PM2.5 Si (1.17, 95% CI: 0.93–1.47), and S in PM2.5 (1.08, 95% CI: 0.95–1.22) and PM10 (1.09, 95% CI: 0.90–1.32). ConclusionIn a joint analysis of 19 European cohorts, we found no statistically significant association between long-term exposure to 8 elemental constituents of particles and total cardiovascular mortality.

Evaluating Multipollutant Exposure and Urban Air Quality: Pollutant Interrelationships, Neighborhood Variability, and Nitrogen Dioxide as a Proxy Pollutant

Background: Although urban air pollution is a complex mix containing multiple constituents, studies of the health effects of long-term exposure often focus on a single pollutant as a proxy for the entire mixture. A better understanding of the component pollutant concentrations and interrelationships would be useful in epidemiological studies that exploit spatial differences in exposure by clarifying the extent to which measures of individual pollutants, particularly nitrogen dioxide (NO2), represent spatial patterns in the multipollutant mixture.Objectives: We examined air pollutant concentrations and interrelationships at the intraurban scale to obtain insight into the nature of the urban mixture of air pollutants.Methods: Mobile measurements of 23 air pollutants were taken systematically at high resolution in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, over 34 days in the winter, summer, and autumn of 2009.Results: We observed variability in pollution levels and in the statistical correlations between different pollutants according to season and neighborhood. Nitrogen oxide species (nitric oxide, NO2, nitrogen oxides, and total oxidized nitrogen species) had the highest overall spatial correlations with the suite of pollutants measured. Ultrafine particles and hydrocarbon-like organic aerosol concentration, a derived measure used as a specific indicator of traffic particles, also had very high correlations.Conclusions: Our findings indicate that the multipollutant mix varies considerably throughout the city, both in time and in space, and thus, no single pollutant would be a perfect proxy measure for the entire mix under all circumstances. However, based on overall average spatial correlations with the suite of pollutants measured, nitrogen oxide species appeared to be the best available indicators of spatial variation in exposure to the outdoor urban air pollutant mixture.Citation: Levy I, Mihele C, Lu G, Narayan J, Brook JR. 2014. Evaluating multipollutant exposure and urban air quality: pollutant interrelationships, neighborhood variability, and nitrogen dioxide as a proxy pollutant. Environ Health Perspect 122:65–72; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1306518

Study on the Relationship between Indoor Air Quality and Children's Health in Beijing

Indoor air quality (IAQ) has been concerned since 1970s in some western countries. Many researchers have studied the effects of air pollution on children's health and evidence suggested that it did contribute significantly to the risk of adverse health in children. Children spend the majority of their time indoors, mostly at home. To study health effects of long-term exposure to indoor air, we conducted a questionnaire survey about indoor environment and children's health status in 2012 on the 4-5 grades children of a primary school in Beijing. The questionnaire was used to collect data on general information of children, living environment, residential equipments and lifestyle and children's health status. We classified the investigated families into several categories according to residential surrounding air pollution, decoration and smoking. Then we observed respiratory symptoms like cough, dyspnea with phlegm, nasal obstruction, asthma and some allergy symptoms in different categories. The results of this survey suggest that indoor air quality is associated with children's health. Morbidity of children's respiratory system symptoms and some allergy symptoms is higher in relatively poor indoor environment.

Association Between Long-Term Air Pollution and Increased Blood Pressure and Hypertension in China

Several studies have investigated the short-term effects of ambient air pollutants in the development of high blood pressure and hypertension. However, little information exists regarding the health effects of long-term exposure. To investigate the association between residential long-term exposure to air pollution and blood pressure and hypertension, we studied 24 845 Chinese adults in 11 districts of 3 northeastern cities from 2009 to 2010. Three-year average concentration of particles with an aerodynamic diameter ≤10 µm (PM(10)), sulfur dioxide (SO(2)), nitrogen dioxides (NO(2)), and ozone (O(3)) were calculated from monitoring stations in the 11 districts. We used generalized additive models and 2-level logistic regressions models to examine the health effects. The results showed that the odds ratio for hypertension increased by 1.12 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.08-1.16) per 19 μg/m(3) increase in PM(10), 1.11 (95% CI, 1.04-1.18) per 20 μg/m(3) increase in SO(2), and 1.13 (95% CI, 1.06-1.20) per 22 μg/m(3) increase in O(3). The estimated increases in mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure were 0.87 mm Hg (95% CI, 0.48-1.27) and 0.32 mm Hg (95% CI, 0.08-0.56) per 19 μg/m(3) interquartile increase in PM(10), 0.80 mm Hg (95% CI, 0.46-1.14) and 0.31 mm Hg (95% CI, 0.10-0.51) per 20 μg/m(3) interquartile increase in SO(2), and 0.73 mm Hg (95% CI, 0.35-1.11) and 0.37 mm Hg (95% CI, 0.14-0.61) per 22 μg/m(3) interquartile increase in O(3). These associations were only statistically significant in men. In conclusion, long-term exposure to PM(10), SO(2), and O(3) was associated with increased arterial blood pressure and hypertension in the study population.