Fine and coarse particulate air pollution in relation to respiratory health in Sweden

Abstract

Health effects have repeatedly been associated with residential levels of air pollution. However, it is difficult to disentangle effects of long-term exposure to locally generated and long-range transported pollutants, as well as to exhaust emissions and wear particles from road traffic. We aimed to investigate effects of exposure to particulate matter fractions on respiratory health in the Swedish adult population, using an integrated assessment of sources at different geographical scales.The study was based on a nationwide environmental health survey performed in 2007, including 25 851 adults aged 18-80 years. Individual exposure to particulate matter at residential addresses was estimated by dispersion modelling of regional, urban and local sources. Associations between different size fractions or source categories and respiratory outcomes were analysed using multiple logistic regression, adjusting for individual and contextual confounding.Exposure to locally generated wear particles showed associations for blocked nose or hay fever, chest tightness or cough, and restricted activity days with odds ratios of 1.5-2 per 10-mg?m -3 increase. Associations were also seen for locally generated combustion particles, which disappeared following adjustment for exposure to wear particles.In conclusion, our data indicate that long-term exposure to locally generated road wear particles increases the risk of respiratory symptoms in adults. @ERSpublications Long-term exposure to locally generated road wear particles increases the risk of respiratory symptoms in adults http://ow.ly/nutsB

Esophageal Eosinophilia is Increased in Rural Areas With Low Population Density: Results From a National Pathology Database

“…Population density may serve as a proxy measure for other exposures of interest. For example, less populous regions may have higher exposures to agricultural application of pesticides or herbicides, higher density of livestock, higher exposure to plant-based allergens (39), or differences in exposure to particulate matter (size and species) (40-43). For example, particulate matter (PM) in rural areas is more likely to be coarse (e.g.…”

“…PM aerodynamic size between 2.5 and 10 micrometers), which typically arises from soil and road dust, whereas finer particulate matter (PM ≤2.5) is typically associated with industrial areas and areas of higher population density (40). Coarse PM has been associated with respiratory and cardiovascular disease and can induce oxidative stress and inflammation(41-43). It is unknown whether PM or other environmental exposures could explain geographical differences observed in EoE, but this is something that could be studied both in animal models and further epidemiologic studies.…”

A rapid assessment of the impact of hazard reduction burning around Sydney, May 2016

“…Other studies have examined the effects of multiple pollutants in the proximity of roads for respiratory health and allergic disease outcomes (Brunekreef et al, 1997;van Vliet et al, 1997;Nicolai et al, 2003;Kim J et al, 2004;Gauderman et al, 2005;Morgenstern et al, 2008;Rosenlund et al, 2009a;McConnell et al, 2010;Gehring et al, 2010;Clark et al, 2010;Gruzieva et al, 2012Gruzieva et al, , 2013Schultz et al, 2012;Willers et al, 2013), birth weight (Brauer et al, 2008), pre-eclampsia and preterm birth (Wu et al, 2011), fatal myocardial infarction (Rosenlund et al, 2006(Rosenlund et al, , 2009b, lung cancer (Nyberg et al, 2000) and mortality (Beelen et al, 2008a). However in their analyses these investigators used either a proximity to road measure or a specific pollutant(s), but never the effects of (multiple) pollutants within proximity to roads.…”

Association Between Health Symptoms and Particulate Matter from Traffic and Residential Heating − Results from RHINE III in Tartu

“…In our study we did not find any statistically significant association between traffic induced particles and respiratory symptoms. However, a recent study associated increasing PM 10 and chest tightness or coughing in adults [41] and several other studies have found relationships between traffic-related air pollution and the development of asthma in children and COPD in adults [42]. Studies have also reported that children and the elderly are at a higher risk of developing respiratory diseases when exposed to very high particle concentration levels (PM 2.5 over 250 µg/m 3 and PM 10 over 1500 µg/m 3 ) [43, 44] and living close to streets with high traffic flows increases the risk of wheezing among schoolchildren [45].…”