Rationale and Design of a Panel Study Investigating Six Health Effects of Airborne Pollen: The EPOCHAL Study

Background: While airborne pollen is widely recognized as a seasonal cause of sneezing and itchy eyes, its effects on pulmonary function, cardiovascular health, sleep quality, and cognitive performance are less well-established. It is likely that the public health impact of pollen may increase in the future due to a higher population prevalence of pollen sensitization as well as earlier, longer, and more intense pollen seasons, trends attributed to climate change. The effects of pollen on health outcomes have previously been studied through cross-sectional design or at two time points, namely preceding and within the period of pollen exposure. We are not aware of any observational study in adults that has analyzed the dose-response relationship between daily ambient pollen concentration and cardiovascular, pulmonary, cognitive, sleep, or quality of life outcomes. Many studies have relied on self-reported pollen allergy status rather than objectively confirming pollen sensitization. In addition, many studies lacked statistical power due to small sample sizes or were highly restrictive with their inclusion criteria, making the findings less transferable to the “real world.”Methods: The EPOCHAL study is an observational panel study which aims to relate ambient pollen concentration to six specific health domains: (1) pulmonary function and inflammation; (2) cardiovascular outcomes (blood pressure and heart rate variability); (3) cognitive performance; (4) sleep; (5) health-related quality of life (HRQoL); and (6) allergic rhinitis symptom severity. Our goal is to enroll 400 individuals with diverse allergen sensitization profiles. The six health domains will be assessed while ambient exposure to pollen of different plants naturally varies. Health data will be collected through six home nurse visits (at approximately weekly intervals) as well as 10 days of independent tracking of blood pressure, sleep, cognitive performance, HRQoL, and symptom severity by participants. Through repeated health assessments, we aim to uncover and characterize dose-response relationships between exposure to different species of pollen and numerous acute health effects, considering (non-)linearity, thresholds, plateaus and slopes.Conclusion: A gain of knowledge in pollen-health outcome relationships is critical to inform future public health policies and will ultimately lead toward better symptom forecasts and improved personalized prevention and treatment

A prospective cohort study of adolescents' memory performance and individual brain dose of microwave radiation from wireless communication

BACKGROUND: The potential impact of microwave radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) emitted by wireless communication devices on neurocognitive functions of adolescents is controversial. In a previous analysis, we found changes in figural memory scores associated with a higher cumulative RF-EMF brain dose in adolescents. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to follow-up our previous results using a new study population, dose estimation, and approach to controlling for confounding from media usage itself. METHODS: RF-EMF brain dose for each participant was modeled. Multivariable linear regression models were fitted on verbal and figural memory score changes over 1 y and on estimated cumulative brain dose and RF-EMF related and unrelated media usage (n = 669-676). Because of the hemispheric lateralization of memory, we conducted a laterality analysis for phone call car preference. To control for the confounding of media use behaviors, a stratified analysis for different media usage groups was also conducted. RESULTS: We found decreased figural memory scores in association with an interquartile range (IQR) increase in estimated cumulative RF-EMF brain dose scores: 0.22 (95% CI: 0.47, 0.03; IQR: 953 mJ/kg per day) in the whole sample, 0.39 (95% CI: 0.67, 0.10; IQR: 953 mJ/kg per day) in right-side users (n = 532), and 0.26 (95% CI: 0.42, 0.10; IQR: 341 mJ/kg per day) when recorded network operator data were used for RF-EMF dose estimation = 274). Media usage unrelated to RF-EMF did not show significant associations or consistent patterns, with the exception of consistent (nonsignificant) positive associations between data traffic duration and verbal memory. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings for a cohort of Swiss adolescents require confirmation in other populations but suggest a potential adverse effect of RF-EMF brain close on cognitive functions that involve brain regions mostly exposed during mobile phone use

Time to harmonize national ambient air quality standards

The World Health Organization has developed ambient air quality guidelines at levels considered to be safe or of acceptable risk for human health. These guidelines are meant to support governments in defining national standards. It is unclear how they are followed.; We compiled an inventory of ambient air quality standards for 194 countries worldwide for six air pollutants: PM2.5, PM10, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide. We conducted literature and internet searches and asked country representatives about national ambient air quality standards.; We found information on 170 countries including 57 countries that did not set any air quality standards. Levels varied greatly by country and by pollutant. Ambient air quality standards for PM2.5, PM10 and SO2 poorly complied with WHO guideline values. The agreement was higher for CO, SO2 (10-min averaging time) and NO2.; Regulatory differences mirror the differences in air quality and the related burden of disease around the globe. Governments worldwide should adopt science based air quality standards and clean air management plans to continuously improve air quality locally, nationally, and globally

Modelling the vertical gradient of nitrogen dioxide in an urban area

Introduction Land use regression models environmental predictors to estimate ground-floor air pollution concentration surfaces of a study area. While many cities are expanding vertically, such models typically ignore the vertical dimension. Methods We took integrated measurements of NO 2 at up to three different floors on the facades of 25 buildings in the mid-sized European city of Basel, Switzerland. We quantified the decrease in NO 2 concentration with increasing height at each facade over two 14-day periods in different seasons. Using predictors of traffic load, population density and street configuration, we built conventional land use regression (LUR) models which predicted ground floor concentrations. We further evaluated which predictors best explained the vertical decay rate . Ultimately, we combined ground floor and decay models to explain the measured concentrations at all heights. Results We found a clear decrease in mean nitrogen dioxide concentrations between measurements at ground level and those at higher floors for both seasons. The median concentration decrease was 8.1% at 10 m above street level in winter and 10.4% in summer. The decrease with height was sharper at buildings where high concentrations were measured on the ground and in canyon-like street configurations. While the conventional ground floor model was able to explain ground floor concentrations with a model R 2 of 0.84 (RMSE 4.1 μg/m 3 ), it predicted measured concentrations at all heights with an R 2 of 0.79 (RMSE 4.5 μg/m 3 ), systematically overpredicting concentrations at higher floors. The LUR model considering vertical decay was able to predict ground floor and higher floor concentrations with a model R 2 of 0.84 (RMSE 3.8 μg/m 3 ) and without systematic bias. Discussion Height above the ground is a relevant determinant of outdoor residential exposure, even in medium-sized European cities without much high-rise. It is likely that conventional LUR models overestimate exposure for residences at higher floors near major roads. This overestimation can be minimized by considering decay with height

Modelling of daily radiofrequency electromagnetic field dose for a prospective adolescent cohort

Introduction: Radiofrequency electromagnetic fields originate from a variety of wireless communication sources operating near and far from the body, making it challenging to quantify daily absorbed dose. In the framework of the prospective cohort SCAMP (Study of Cognition, Adolescents and Mobile Phones), we aimed to characterize RF-EMF dose over a 2-year period. Methods: The SCAMP cohort included 6605 children from greater London, UK at baseline (age 12.1 years; 2014-2016) and 5194 at follow-up (age 14.2; 2016-2018). We estimated the daily dose of RF-EMF to eight tissues including the whole body and whole brain, using dosimetric algorithms for the specific absorption rate transfer into the body. We considered RF-EMF dose from 12 common usage scenarios such as mobile phone calls or data transmission. We evaluated the association between sociodemographic factors (gender, ethnicity, phone ownership and socio-economic status), and the dose change between baseline and follow-up. Results: Whole body dose was estimated at an average of 170 mJ/kg/day at baseline and 178 mJ/kg/day at follow-up. Among the eight tissues considered, the right temporal lobe received the highest daily dose (baseline 1150 mJ/kg/day, follow-up 1520 mJ/kg/day). Estimated daily dose [mJ/kg/day] increased between baseline and follow-up for head and brain related tissues, but remained stable for the whole body and heart. Doses estimated at baseline and follow-up showed low correlation among the 3384 children who completed both assessments. Asian ethnicity (compared to white) and owning a bar phone or no phone (as opposed to a smartphone) were associated with lower estimated whole-body and whole-brain RF-EMF dose, while black ethnicity, a moderate/low socio-economic status (compared to high), and increasing age (at baseline) were associated with higher estimated RF-EMF dose. Conclusion: This study describes the first longitudinal exposure assessment for children in a critical period of development. Dose estimations will be used in further epidemiological analyses for the SCAMP study

Pollen exposure is associated with risk of respiratory symptoms during the first year of life

BACKGROUND: Pollen exposure is associated with respiratory symptoms in children and adults. However, the association of pollen exposure with respiratory symptoms during infancy, a particularly vulnerable period, remains unclear. We examined whether pollen exposure is associated with respiratory symptoms in infants and whether maternal atopy, infant's sex or air pollution modifies this association. METHODS: We investigated 14,874 observations from 401 healthy infants of a prospective birth cohort. The association between pollen exposure and respiratory symptoms, assessed in weekly telephone interviews, was evaluated using generalized additive mixed models (GAMMs). Effect modification by maternal atopy, infant's sex, and air pollution (NO$_{2}$ , PM$_{2.5}$ ) was assessed with interaction terms. RESULTS: Per infant, 37 ± 2 (mean ± SD) respiratory symptom scores were assessed during the analysis period (January through September). Pollen exposure was associated with increased respiratory symptoms during the daytime (RR [95% CI] per 10% pollen/m$^{3}$ : combined 1.006 [1.002, 1.009]; tree 1.005 [1.002, 1.008]; grass 1.009 [1.000, 1.23]) and nighttime (combined 1.003 [0.999, 1.007]; tree 1.003 [0.999, 1.007]; grass 1.014 [1.004, 1.024]). While there was no effect modification by maternal atopy and infant's sex, a complex crossover interaction between combined pollen and PM$_{2.5}$ was found (p-value 0.003). CONCLUSION: Even as early as during the first year of life, pollen exposure was associated with an increased risk of respiratory symptoms, independent of maternal atopy and infant's sex. Because infancy is a particularly vulnerable period for lung development, the identified adverse effect of pollen exposure may be relevant for the evolvement of chronic childhood asthma

Феномен танца как объект философской рефлексии: ключевые проблемы и основные вопросы

Цель исследования – выявить важнейшие философские проблемы, связанные с постижением феномена танца во всем его многообразии

Particulate matter and subclinical atherosclerosis : associations between different particle sizes and sources with carotid intima-media thickness in the SAPALDIA study

Subclinical atherosclerosis has been associated with long-term exposure to particulate matter (PM), but the relevance of particle size and sources of exposure remains unclear.; We investigated the association of long-term exposure to PM10 (≤ 10 μm), PM2.5 (≤ 2.5 μm: total mass, vehicular, and crustal sources), and ultrafine particles [UFP < 0.1 μm: particle number concentration (PNC) and lung-deposited surface area (LDSA)] with carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT).; We used data from 1,503 participants ≥ 50 years old who participated in the third examination of the Swiss SAPALDIA cohort. Exposures were obtained from dispersion models and land-use regression models. Covariate information, including previous cardiovascular risk factors, was obtained from the second and third SAPALDIA examinations.; The adjusted percent difference in CIMT associated with an exposure contrast between the 10th and 90th percentile was 1.58% (95% CI: -0.30, 3.47%) for PM10, 2.10% (95% CI: 0.04, 4.16%) for PM2.5, 1.67% (95% CI: -0.13, 3.48%) for the vehicular source of PM2.5, -0.58% (95% CI: -3.95, 2.79%) for the crustal source of PM2.5, 2.06% (95% CI: 0.03, 4.10%) for PNC, and 2.32% (95% CI: 0.23, 4.40%) for LDSA. Stronger associations were observed among diabetics, subjects with low-educational level, and those at higher cardiovascular risk.; CIMT was associated with exposure to PM10, PM2.5, and UFP. The PM2.5 source-specific analysis showed a positive association for the vehicular source but not for the crustal source. Although the effects of PNC and LDSA were similar in magnitude, two-pollutant and residual-based models suggested that LDSA may be a better marker for the health relevance of UFP. Citation: Aguilera I, Dratva J, Caviezel S, Burdet L, de Groot E, Ducret-Stich RE, Eeftens M, Keidel D, Meier R, Perez L, Rothe T, Schaffner E, Schmit-Trucksäss A, Tsai MY, Schindler C, Künzli N, Probst-Hensch N. 2016. Particulate matter and subclinical atherosclerosis: associations between different particle sizes and sources with carotid intima-media thickness in the SAPALDIA study. Environ Health Perspect 124:1700-1706; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/EHP161

Spatial and temporal variability of personal environmental exposure to radio frequency electromagnetic fields in children in Europe

Exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) has rapidly increased and little is known about exposure levels in children. This study describes personal RF-EMF environmental exposure levels from handheld devices and fixed site transmitters in European children, the determinants of this, and the day-to-day and year-to-year repeatability of these exposure levels.; Personal environmental RF-EMF exposure (μW/m; 2; , power flux density) was measured in 529 children (ages 8-18 years) in Denmark, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Switzerland, and Spain using personal portable exposure meters for a period of up to three days between 2014 and 2016, and repeated in a subsample of 28 children one year later. The meters captured 16 frequency bands every 4 s and incorporated a GPS. Activity diaries and questionnaires were used to collect children's location, use of handheld devices, and presence of indoor RF-EMF sources. Six general frequency bands were defined: total, digital enhanced cordless telecommunications (DECT), television and radio antennas (broadcast), mobile phones (uplink), mobile phone base stations (downlink), and Wireless Fidelity (WiFi). We used adjusted mixed effects models with region random effects to estimate associations of handheld device use habits and indoor RF-EMF sources with personal RF-EMF exposure. Day-to-day and year-to-year repeatability of personal RF-EMF exposure were calculated through intraclass correlations (ICC).; Median total personal RF-EMF exposure was 75.5 μW/m; 2; . Downlink was the largest contributor to total exposure (median: 27.2 μW/m; 2; ) followed by broadcast (9.9 μW/m; 2; ). Exposure from uplink (4.7 μW/m; 2; ) was lower. WiFi and DECT contributed very little to exposure levels. Exposure was higher during day (94.2 μW/m; 2; ) than night (23.0 μW/m; 2; ), and slightly higher during weekends than weekdays, although varying across regions. Median exposures were highest while children were outside (157.0 μW/m; 2; ) or traveling (171.3 μW/m; 2; ), and much lower at home (33.0 μW/m; 2; ) or in school (35.1 μW/m; 2; ). Children living in urban environments had higher exposure than children in rural environments. Older children and users of mobile phones had higher uplink exposure but not total exposure, compared to younger children and those that did not use mobile phones. Day-to-day repeatability was moderate to high for most of the general frequency bands (ICCs between 0.43 and 0.85), as well as for total, broadcast, and downlink for the year-to-year repeatability (ICCs between 0.49 and 0.80) in a small subsample.; The largest contributors to total personal environmental RF-EMF exposure were downlink and broadcast, and these exposures showed high repeatability. Urbanicity was the most important determinant of total exposure and mobile phone use was the most important determinant of uplink exposure. It is important to continue evaluating RF-EMF exposure in children as device use habits, exposure levels, and main contributing sources may change