Impact of ambient air pollution on physical activity and sedentary behavior in China: A systematic review

Abstract

This study systematically reviewed scientific evidence linking ambient air pollution to physical activity and sedentary behavior in China. A keyword and reference search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library. Predetermined selection criteria included-study designs: interventions or experiments, retrospective or prospective cohort studies, cross-sectional studies, and case-control studies; subjects: people of all ages; exposures: specific air pollutants and/or overall air quality; outcomes: physical activity and/or sedentary behavior; and country/area: mainland China. Ten studies met the selection criteria and were included in the review. Six adopted a cross-sectional design and the remaining four adopted a prospective cohort design. Four studies assessed a specific air pollutant namely particulate matter with diameter < 2.5 µg/m 3 (PM2.5), whereas the remaining six focused on overall air quality, defined using air quality indexes. Decline in overall air quality and increase in PM2.5 concentration were found to be associated with reduced daily/weekly duration of outdoor leisure-time and/or transportation-related physical activity such as walking but increased duration of daytime/nighttime sleeping among Chinese residents. In contrast, evidence linking overall air quality and PM2.5 concentration to sedentary behavior remains mixed and inconclusive. In conclusion, preliminary evidence indicates that ambient air pollution impacts Chinese residents' daily physical activity-related behaviors. Future studies adopting objective measures of physical activity and a longitudinal or experimental study design are warranted to examine the impact of air pollution on sensitive sub-3 populations such as children, older adults and people with pre-existing conditions, and in locations outside China.

How do we effectively communicate air pollution to change public attitudes and behaviours? A review

“…We note that, in reverse, much of current air quality communication efforts are in fact meant to reduce outdoor activity, including cycling and park attendance. A recent review of the broader literature finds that air pollution alerts reduce physical activity behaviour (An et al 2019). Such recommendation may be appropriate to protect the population most at risk.…”

Changes in air-pollution related behaviour measured by Google Trends Search Volume Index in response to reported air quality in Poland

“…Studies carried out in China and the US found that people reduced their outdoor activity when atmospheric PM2.5 concentration rose [26][27][28]. Other research showed that individuals limited their transportation-related physical activity and spent more time at home when particulate matter concentrations increased [27,29]. These results show that people not only search for the information on their local air quality index but use it as a guideline to adapt their behavioural patterns.…”

Current status of premature mortality from four non-communicable diseases and progress towards the Sustainable Development Goal target 3.4: a population-based study in northeast China, 2004–2017

“…Similar policies should be extended to other industries, such as manufacturing, processing, construction, and so on. A high-salt diet is prevalent in our province, and as an important factor for hypertension, CVDs and other diseases, it should be restricted [56,57]. For instance, a low-sodium substitute remarkably reduced the risk of increased blood pressure in a selected population from Liaoning Province compared with regular salt [58].…”