Ozone and nitrogen oxides (NOx) are air pollutants with known associations to adverse health effects on humans. Few studies have simultaneously measured ozone and nitrogen oxides with high spatial resolution. The main aim of this paper was to assess the levels and variation of ground-level ozone, NO2 and NOx in two Swedish cities. An additional aim was to describe the levels of these pollutants within and between three different types of measurement sites (regional background, urban background and traffic sites) and within and between different measurement periods of the year. Three weekly sampling campaigns of NOx and ozone were conducted simultaneously at 20 sites in two Swedish regions using Ogawa badges. Ozone was measured at 20 additional sites in each area. The median ozone concentration for all measurements was statistically significantly higher in Malmö (67 μg/m3) compared to Umeå (56 μg/m3), and in both cities, ozone levels were highest in April. Measurement period was a more important factor for describing the variation in ozone concentrations than the type of measurement site. The levels of NO2 and NOx were statistically significantly higher in the Malmö area (8.1 and 12 μg/m3) compared to the Umeå area (4.5 and 8.9 μg/m3). The levels were generally highest at the sites categorized as traffic, while the variability between different seasons was sparse.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10661-017-5872-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
BackgroundTrichloramine exposure in indoor swimming pools has been suggested to cause asthma in children. We aimed to investigate the risk of asthma onset among children in relation to individual trichloramine exposure.MethodsA longitudinal nested case-control study of 337 children with asthma (cases) and 633 controls aged 16–17 years was performed within a population-based cohort from The Obstructive Lung Disease in Northern Sweden studies (OLIN). Year of asthma onset and exposure time at different ages were obtained in telephone interviews. Trichloramine concentrations in the pool buildings were measured. Skin prick test results for inhalant allergens were available from previous examinations of the cohort. The risk for asthma was analyzed in relation to the cumulative trichloramine exposure before onset of asthma.ResultsThe participation rate was high in the original cohort (88 to 96%), and in the case-control study (80%). Trichloramine concentrations ranged from 0.020 to 0.55 mg/m3 (mean 0.15 mg/m3). Swimming pool exposure in early life was associated with a significantly higher risk of pre-school asthma onset. A dose-response relationship between swimming pool exposure and asthma was indicated in children with asthma onset at 1 year of age. Children who were both sensitized and exposed had a particularly high risk.ConclusionsEarly life exposure to chlorinated swimming pool environments was associated with pre-school asthma onset.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12940-018-0383-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Exposure to air pollution is of great concern for public health although studies on the associations between exposure estimates and personal exposure are limited and somewhat inconsistent. The aim of this study was to quantify the associations between personal nitrogen oxides (NOx), ozone (O3) and particulate matter (PM10) exposure levels and ambient levels, and the impact of climate and time spent outdoors in two cities in Sweden. Subjects (n = 65) from two Swedish cities participated in the study. The study protocol included personal exposure measurements at three occasions, or waves. Personal exposure measurements were performed for NOx and O3 for 24 h and PM10 for 24 h, and the participants kept an activity diary. Stationary monitoring stations provided hourly data of NOx, O3 and PM, as well as data on air temperature and relative humidity. Data were analysed using mixed linear models with the subject-id as a random effect and stationary exposure and covariates as fixed effects. Personal exposure levels of NOx, O3 and PM10 were significantly associated with levels measured at air pollution monitoring stations. The associations persisted after adjusting for temperature, relative humidity, city and wave, but the modelled estimates were slightly attenuated from 2.4% (95% CI 1.8–2.9) to 2.0% (0.97–2.94%) for NOx, from 3.7% (95% CI 3.1–4.4) to 2.1% (95% CI 1.1–2.9%) for O3 and from 2.6% (95% 0.9–4.2%) to 1.3% (95% CI − 1.5–4.0) for PM10. After adding covariates, the degree of explanation offered by the model (coefficient of determination, or R2) did not change for NOx (0.64 to 0.63) but increased from 0.46 to 0.63 for O3, and from 0.38 to 0.43 for PM10. Personal exposure to NOx, O3 and PM has moderate to good association with levels measured at urban background sites. The results indicate that stationary measurements are valid as measure of exposure in environmental health risk assessments, especially if they can be refined using activity diaries and meteorological data. Approximately 50–70% of the variation of the personal exposure was explained by the stationary measurement, implying occurrence of misclassification in studies using more crude exposure metrics, potentially leading to underestimates of the effects of exposure to ambient air pollution.
Objective: To investigate whether low molecular organic biomarkers could be identified in blood samples from vibration exposed workers using a metabolomics. Methods: The study population consisted of 38 metalworkers. All participants underwent a standardized medical examination. Blood samples were collected before and after work shift and analyzed with gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Multivariate modeling (orthogonal partial least-squares analysis with discriminant analysis [OPLS-DA]) were used to verify differences in metabolic profiles. Results: Twenty-two study participants reported vascular symptoms judged as vibration-related. The metabolic profile from participants with vibration-induced white fingers (VWF) was distinctly separated from participants without VWF, both before and after vibration exposure. Conclusion: Metabolites that differed between the groups were identified both before and after exposure. Some of these metabolites might be indicators of health effects from exposure to vibrations. This is the first time that a metabolomic approach has been used in workers exposed to vibrations.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.