Association Between Short-term Exposure to Ultrafine Particles and Mortality in Eight European Urban Areas

Abstract

We found weak evidence of an association between daily ultrafine particles and mortality. Further studies are required with standardized protocols for ultrafine particle data collection in multiple European cities over extended study periods.

First Results of the “Carbonaceous Aerosol in Rome and Environs (CARE)” Experiment: Beyond Current Standards for PM10

“…Inhaled ultrafine particles may translocate to the brain [13] where they can cause adverse impacts by inflammation and oxidative stress, which are common mechanisms similar to those acting in the lung [14,15]. Recent cross over studies on UFP and daily mortality in Europe, however, still show contrasting results and question the lack of a standardized protocol for UFP data collection [16] .…”

Occupational Exposure to Fine Particles and Ultrafine Particles in a Steelmaking Foundry

“…The highest deposition levels for the alveolar tract and the tracheobronchial tract were recorded in the mechanical workshop and in the first welding station (Figure 4). Several studies have suggested that a large surface area or number may play an important role to causing adverse health effects [24,26,32,37,[63][64][65]. The respiratory dose could be a key factor for assessing potential health effects of inhaled particles.…”

“…UFPs may have more pronounced toxic effects than larger particles, due to their larger surface area to unit mass ratio, which determines their peculiar physicochemical properties and increased biological activity [19][20][21][22][23]. Recently, some studies have shown an association between ultrafine particulate exposure and health effects on the cardiovascular and respiratory tract [24][25][26], however, epidemiological evidence on UFP-related adverse health effects is still limited and subject to disagreement [27][28][29][30][31].Some studies have focused on surface-related effects [24,32-34], particle-related effects [25,[35][36][37], mass-related effects [38] or effects related to metallic elements contained in the particulate matter [39][40][41]; however, the role that the different (size-or non-size-related) components in particulate matter play in determining the adverse health effects observed, and the most appropriate metric (or metrics) for exposure assessment and control, remain unclear [42][43][44].Although in recent decades research has increased into UFP exposure in living and working environments [45,46], there is limited evidence of the epidemiological studies about UFP-related adverse health effects, probably attributable to the lack of available data for UFP exposure assessment. Therefore, more knowledge is needed on the different metrics that may be associated with health effects, which may provide data for the realization of job-exposure matrices.…”

“…Some studies have focused on surface-related effects [24,32-34], particle-related effects [25,[35][36][37], mass-related effects [38] or effects related to metallic elements contained in the particulate matter [39][40][41]; however, the role that the different (size-or non-size-related) components in particulate matter play in determining the adverse health effects observed, and the most appropriate metric (or metrics) for exposure assessment and control, remain unclear [42][43][44].…”

The Role of Air Pollution by the Particulate Matter in Pathogenesis of the Chronic Noninfectious Diseases

“…(2017) при анализе данных о ежедневной смертности от ССЗ, ме-теорологических условиях и загрязнении воздуха РМ не выявили существенной зависимости между ежедневным уровнем загрязнения воздуха РМ и смертностью населе-ния в урбанизированных регионах Финляндии, Швеции, Германии, Италии, Греции, Дании, Испании за период с 1999 по 2013 г. [13].…”