Sources of variation for indoor nitrogen dioxide in rural residences of Ethiopia

Background  

Unprocessed biomass fuel is the primary source of indoor air pollution (IAP) in developing countries. The use of biomass fuel has been linked with acute respiratory infections. This study assesses sources of variations associated with the level of indoor nitrogen dioxide (NO₂).     

Effect of residential proximity to traffic on respiratory disorders in school children in upper Silesian Industrial Zone, Poland

Objective

A number of studies show an association between traffic-related air pollution and adverse respiratory health effects in children. However, most evidence relates to the regions with low or moderate levels of ambient air pollution. The study was undertaken to assess the impact of traffic-related air pollution on respiratory health status in children living in the area of high levels of industrial and municipal ambient air pollution.

Materials and Methods

Analyses involved data obtained from cross-sectional study on respiratory health in children (N = 5733), conducted between 2003–2004 in Bytom, one of the largest cities of Silesian Metropolis (Poland). Exposure to traffic-related air pollution was assessed by means of geographic information system and expressed as several measures of potential exposure to traffic-related air pollution, involving residential distance to major road and traffic density in the residential area. Logistic regression was used to examine association between reported respiratory health and traffic measures.

Results

Statistically significant association was found between doctor-diagnosed asthma and residential proximity to traffic. Results of multivariate logistic regression (logOR; 95%CI) confirmed the effect of living in an area of a city with high-traffic-density on childhood asthma: 1.60 (1.07–2.39). Similar effects were found in case of allergic rhinitis and rhinitis symptoms, but the observed associations were not statistically significant.

Conclusion

The study findings suggest that even in an area with poor regional ambient air quality, adverse respiratory health outcomes are more frequent in children living in a proximity to the high vehicle traffic flow.     

Air pollution and health in Sri Lanka: a review of epidemiologic studies

Background  

Air pollution is increasingly documented as a threat to public health in most developing countries. Evaluation of current air quality levels, regulatory standards and scientific literature on outdoor and indoor air pollution, and health effects are important to identify the burden, develop and implement interventions and to fill knowledge gaps in Sri Lanka.     

Indoor air pollution and health of children in biomass fuel-using households of Bangladesh: comparison between urban and rural areas

Objectives  

Indoor air pollutants from biomass combustion pose a risk for respiratory diseases in children. It is plausible that distinct differences in the indoor air quality (IAQ) exist between urban and rural areas in developing countries since the living environment between these two areas are quite different. We have investigated possible differences in IAQ in urban and rural Dhaka, Bangladesh and the association of such differences with the incidence of respiratory and some non-respiratory symptoms in children of families using biomass fuel.     

Opportunities for using spatial property assessment data in air pollution exposure assessments

Background  

Many epidemiological studies examining the relationships between adverse health outcomes and exposure to air pollutants use ambient air pollution measurements as a proxy for personal exposure levels. When pollution levels vary at neighbourhood levels, using ambient pollution data from sparsely located fixed monitors may inadequately capture the spatial variation in ambient pollution. A major constraint to moving toward exposure assessments and epidemiological studies of air pollution at a neighbourhood level is the lack of readily available data at appropriate spatial resolutions. Spatial property assessment data are widely available in North America and may provide an opportunity for developing neighbourhood level air pollution exposure assessments.     

The association between low level exposures to ambient air pollution and term low birth weight: a retrospective cohort study

Background  

Studies in areas with relatively high levels of air pollution have found some positive associations between exposures to ambient levels of air pollution and several birth outcomes including low birth weight (LBW). The purpose of this study was to examine the association between LBW among term infants and ambient air pollution, by trimester of exposure, in a region of lower level exposures.     

Effect of hourly concentration of particulate matter on peak expiratory flow in hospitalized children: A panel study

Background  

Little information is available on the possible association between hourly short-term air pollution and peak expiratory flow (PEF) in asthmatic children.     

Potential sources of bias in the use of individual's recall of the frequency of exposure to air pollution for use in exposure assessment in epidemiological studies: a cross-sectional survey

Background  

In a previous study it has been shown that mean population perception of air pollution correlates well with physical measures of actual air pollution and could be used as a measure of exposure to air pollution, at least for those forms of pollution perceptible to humans. However, for such a measure to be valid researchers would need to be confident that it was not strongly biased by possible confounding variables. This study reports the association between perception of above average levels of air pollution compared with others in the neighbourhood and a number of factors that may influence reporting.     

Outdoor air pollution and emergency department visits for asthma among children and adults: A case-crossover study in northern Alberta,Canada

Background  

Recent studies have observed positive associations between outdoor air pollution and emergency department (ED) visits for asthma. However, few have examined the possible confounding influence of aeroallergens, or reported findings among very young children.     

Effects of ambient air pollution on functional status in patients with chronic congestive heart failure: a repeated-measures study

Background  

Studies using administrative data report a positive association between ambient air pollution and the risk of hospitalization for congestive heart failure (HF). Circulating levels of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) are directly associated with cardiac hemodynamics and symptom severity in patients with HF and, therefore, serves as a marker of functional status. We tested the hypothesis that BNP levels would be positively associated with short-term changes in ambient pollution levels among 28 patients with chronic stable HF and impaired systolic function.     

Geographic variations of childhood asthma hospitalization and outpatient visits and proximity to ambient pollution sources at a U.S.-Canada border crossing

Background  

Childhood asthma is a significant public health problem in the United States and evidence is accumulating regarding the contribution from traffic and ambient air pollution. This study is a companion piece of a related Buffalo asthma study in adults recently published in the July 2004 issue of American Journal of Public Health. This study focuses on children under 18 years of age diagnosed with asthma during a three-year period (2000–2002). In order to determine the effects of particulate air pollution on public health, we conducted an ecologic study of childhood asthma and point-source respirable particulate air pollution in patients diagnosed with asthma (n = 6,425). Patients diagnosed with gastroenteritis (n = 5,132) were used as controls.     

A community study of the effect of particulate matter on blood measures of inflammation and thrombosis in an elderly population

Background  

The mechanism behind the triggering effect of fine particulate matter (PM) air pollution on cardiovascular events remains elusive. We postulated that elevated levels of PM would be associated with increased blood levels of inflammatory and thrombotic markers in elderly individuals. We also hypothesized that elevated PM would increase levels of cytokines in individuals with heart disease.     

Air pollution and lung function among susceptible adult subjects: a panel study

Background  

Adverse health effects at relatively low levels of ambient air pollution have consistently been reported in the last years. We conducted a time-series panel study of subjects with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, and ischemic heart disease (IHD) to evaluate whether daily levels of air pollutants have a measurable impact on the lung function of adult subjects with pre-existing lung or heart diseases.     

Comparison of heart rate variability and cardiac arrhythmias in polluted and clean air episodes in healthy individuals

Objective  

Pathophysiological mechanisms and pathways linking cardiovascular mortality and morbidity with air pollution were recently hypothesized. The present study evaluated association between air pollution and changes in heart rate variability as a marker of cardiac autonomic function in healthy individuals, and also determined the frequency of cardiac arrhythmias and QT interval changes on polluted compared to unpolluted days.     

Linking stroke mortality with air pollution,income, and greenness in northwest Florida: an ecological geographical study

Background  

Relatively few studies have examined the association between air pollution and stroke mortality. Inconsistent and inclusive results from existing studies on air pollution and stroke justify the need to continue to investigate the linkage between stroke and air pollution. No studies have been done to investigate the association between stroke and greenness. The objective of this study was to examine if there is association of stroke with air pollution, income and greenness in northwest Florida.     

Buccal micronucleus cytome assay in primary school children: A descriptive analysis of the MAPEC_LIFE multicenter cohort study

Background

Recent data support the hypothesis that genetic damage occurring early in life during childhood can play an important role in the development of chronic diseases in adulthood, including cancer.

Air pollution research: visualization of research activity using density-equalizing mapping and scientometric benchmarking procedures

Background  

Due to constantly rising air pollution levels as well as an increasing awareness of the hazardousness of air pollutants, new laws and rules have recently been passed. Although there has been a large amount of research on this topic, bibliometric data is still to be collected. Thus this study provides a scientometric approach to the material published on this subject so far.     

Influence of geocoding quality on environmental exposure assessment of children living near high traffic roads

Background  

The widespread availability of powerful geocoding tools in commercial GIS software and the interest in spatial analysis at the individual level have made address geocoding a widely employed technique in epidemiological studies. This study determined the effect of the positional error in street geocoding on the analysis of traffic-related air pollution on children.     

Urban air pollution and emergency room admissions for respiratory symptoms: a case-crossover study in Palermo,Italy

Background  

Air pollution from vehicular traffic has been associated with respiratory diseases. In Palermo, the largest metropolitan area in Sicily, urban air pollution is mainly addressed to traffic-related pollution because of lack of industrial settlements, and the presence of a temperate climate that contribute to the limited use of domestic heating plants. This study aimed to investigate the association between traffic-related air pollution and emergency room admissions for acute respiratory symptoms.     

Residential traffic exposure and pregnancy-related outcomes: a prospective birth cohort study

Background  

The effects of ambient air pollution on pregnancy outcomes are under debate. Previous studies have used different air pollution exposure assessment methods. The considerable traffic-related intra-urban spatial variation needs to be considered in exposure assessment. Residential proximity to traffic is a proxy for traffic-related exposures that takes into account within-city contrasts.