Annoyance due to air pollution in Europe

Abstract

Annoyance due to air pollution is frequent in Europe. Individuals' annoyance may be a useful measure of perceived ambient quality and could be considered a complementary tool for health surveillance.

Association between annoyance and individuals' values of nitrogen dioxide in a European setting

“…Rotko et al 5 did not find an association between home outdoor NO 2 and annoyance caused by air pollution while at home when doing the analysis at an individual level; they only found an association at the population level. In a previous study, we showed the determinants of annoyance in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey II (ECRHSII) population and we found a moderate association between annoyance and central measurements of particulate matter up to 2.5 microns in diameter and its sulphur content, although heterogeneous across centres 4. Annoyance is assessed for the local environment around the house, which is not captured by centrally measured background pollutants.…”

“…The multivariate model used was the same as that previously applied to analyse annoyance for this population 4. The variables included in the original model were sex, socioeconomic status, night shortness of breath, chronic phlegm, rhinitis, smoking status, exposure to environmental tobacco smoke and self-reported car and heavy vehicle traffic.…”

On exposure and response relationships for health effects associated with exposure to vehicular traffic

“…Traffic proximity studies not only encompass the copollutant problems, but involve additional issues of noise exposure (Bluhm et al, 2007), psychological stress (Jacquemin et al, 2007), and socioeconomic status (SES). This last factor has been associated with a variety of differential health impacts, including premature mortality, asthma, and chronic bronchitis (Ellison-Loschmann et al, 2007).…”

“…Children's lung development (Gauderman et al, 2007) Respiratory symptoms (Gordian et al, 2006). Annoyance that could lead to stress (Jacquemin et al, 2007). This wide range of effects and their implied mechanisms suggest that a single causal agent is unlikely; involvement of non-criteria air pollutants and other effects cannot be precluded.…”

Is there an association between urban greenness and air pollution annoyance?

“…Therefore, buffering these stress reactions should be investigated as a means of reducing the burden of disease associated with air pollution. However, research on air pollution annoyance and health is much scarcer in comparison to that on noise annoyance (11). Green spaces are known to reduce air pollution in the urban environment by filtering particulate and gaseous pollutants, deposing them on plant surfaces, increasing their dispersion and altering the local temperature (12,13,14,15).…”