Transportation Noise and Blood Pressure in a Population-Based Sample of Adults

Background: There is some evidence for an association between traffic noise and ischemic heart disease; however, associations with blood pressure have been inconsistent, and little is known about health effects of railway noise

Different genes interact with particulate matter and tobacco smoke exposure in affecting lung function decline in the general population

BACKGROUND: Oxidative stress related genes modify the effects of ambient air pollution or tobacco smoking on lung function decline. The impact of interactions might be substantial, but previous studies mostly focused on main effects of single genes. OBJECTIVES: We studied the interaction of both exposures with a broad set of oxidative-stress related candidate genes and pathways on lung function decline and contrasted interactions between exposures. METHODS: For 12679 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), change in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV(1)), FEV(1) over forced vital capacity (FEV(1)/FVC), and mean forced expiratory flow between 25 and 75% of the FVC (FEF(25-75)) was regressed on interval exposure to particulate matter >10 microm in diameter (PM10) or packyears smoked (a), additive SNP effects (b), and interaction terms between (a) and (b) in 669 adults with GWAS data. Interaction p-values for 152 genes and 14 pathways were calculated by the adaptive rank truncation product (ARTP) method, and compared between exposures. Interaction effect sizes were contrasted for the strongest SNPs of nominally significant genes (p(interaction)>0.05). Replication was attempted for SNPs with MAF<10% in 3320 SAPALDIA participants without GWAS. RESULTS: On the SNP-level, rs2035268 in gene SNCA accelerated FEV(1)/FVC decline by 3.8% (p(interaction) = 2.5x10(-6)), and rs12190800 in PARK2 attenuated FEV1 decline by 95.1 ml p(interaction) = 9.7x10(-8)) over 11 years, while interacting with PM10. Genes and pathways nominally interacting with PM10 and packyears exposure differed substantially. Gene CRISP2 presented a significant interaction with PM10 (p(interaction) = 3.0x10(-4)) on FEV(1)/FVC decline. Pathway interactions were weak. Replications for the strongest SNPs in PARK2 and CRISP2 were not successful. CONCLUSIONS: Consistent with a stratified response to increasing oxidative stress, different genes and pathways potentially mediate PM10 and tobac smoke effects on lung function decline. Ignoring environmental exposures would miss these patterns, but achieving sufficient sample size and comparability across study samples is challengin

Tobacco-related cancer mortality: projections for different geographical regions in Switzerland

PRINCIPLES: Switzerland is divided into 26 cantons of variable population size and cultural characteristics. Although a federal law to protect against passive smoking and a national tobacco control programme exist, details of tobacco-related policies are canton-specific. This study aimed to project gender-specific tobacco-related cancer mortality in Switzerland at different geographical levels for the periods 2009-2013 and 2014-2018. METHODS: In this analysis, data on Swiss tobacco-related cancer mortality from 1984 until 2008 were used. Bayesian age-period-cohort models were formulated to assess past trends of gender-specific tobacco-related cancer mortality and to project them up to 2018 at cantonal and language region levels. Furthermore, estimates are provided on a national scale by age categories of 50-69 and ≥70 years. RESULTS: Model-based estimates at cantonal level identified regions with low and high tobacco-related cancer mortality rates for the observed and projected periods. Our analysis based on language regions showed the lowest mortality in the German-speaking part. Projections at national level, between younger (age 50-69) and older (age ≥70) males, indicated an ongoing decreasing trend for males but an upward trend for females. The gap in tobacco-related cancer mortality rates between younger and older males seems to be shrinking. In females, a stronger rise was obtained for the younger age group. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate region-, sex- and age-related differences in tobacco-related cancer mortality in Switzerland and this could be useful for healthcare planning and for evaluating the impact of canton-specific tobacco-related policies and interventions

Bayesian spatio-temporal modelling of tobacco-related cancer mortality in Switzerland

Tobacco smoking is a main cause of disease in Switzerland; lung cancer being the most common cancer mortality in men and the second most common in women. Although disease-specific mortality is decreasing in men, it is steadily increasing in women. The four language regions in this country might play a role in this context as they are influenced in different ways by the cultural and social behaviour of neighbouring countries. Bayesian hierarchical spatio-temporal, negative binomial models were fitted on subgroup-specific death rates indirectly standardized by national references to explore age- and gender-specific spatio-temporal patterns of mortality due to lung cancer and other tobacco-related cancers in Switzerland for the time period 1969-2002. Differences influenced by linguistic region and life in rural or urban areas were also accounted for. Male lung cancer mortality was found to be rather homogeneous in space, whereas women were confirmed to be more affected in urban regions. Compared to the German-speaking part, female mortality was higher in the French-speaking part of the country, a result contradicting other reports of similar comparisons between France and Germany. The spatio-temporal patterns of mortality were similar for lung cancer and other tobacco-related cancers. The estimated mortality maps can support the planning in health care services and evaluation of a national tobacco control programme. Better understanding of spatial and temporal variation of cancer of the lung and other tobacco-related cancers may help in allocating resources for more effective screening, diagnosis and therapy. The methodology can be applied to similar studies in other settings

PM10 source apportionment in a Swiss Alpine valley impacted by highway traffic

Although trans-Alpine highway traffic exhaust is one of the major sources of air pollution along the highway valleys of the Alpine regions, little is known about its contribution to residential exposure and impact on respiratory health. In this paper, source-specific contributions to particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter > 10 μm (PM10) and their spatio-temporal distribution were determined for later use in a pediatric asthma panel study in an Alpine village. PM10 sources were identified by positive matrix factorization using chemical trace elements, elemental, and organic carbon from daily PM10 filters collected between November 2007 and June 2009 at seven locations within the village. Of the nine sources identified, four were directly road traffic-related: traffic exhaust, road dust, tire and brake wear, and road salt contributing 16 %, 8 %, 1 %, and 2 % to annual PM10 concentrations, respectively. They showed a clear dependence with distance to highway. Additional contributions were identified from secondary particles (27 %), biomass burning (18 %), railway (11 %), and mineral dust including a local construction site (13 %). Comparing these source contributions with known source-specific biomarkers (e.g., levoglucosan, nitro-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) showed high agreement with biomass burning, moderate with secondary particles (in winter), and lowest agreement with traffic exhaust

Land use regression models for crustal and traffic-related PM2.5 constituents in four areas of the SAPALDIA study

Many studies have documented adverse health effects of long-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), but there is still limited knowledge regarding the causal relationship between specific sources of PM2.5 and such health effects. The spatial variability of PM2.5 constituents and sources, as a exposure assessment strategy for investigating source contributions to health effects, has been little explored so far. Between 2011 and 2012, three measurement campaigns of PM and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) were performed in 80 sites across four areas of the Swiss Study on Air Pollution and Lung and heart Diseases in Adults (SAPALDIA). Reflectance analysis and energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (XRF) were performed on PM2.5 filter samples to estimate light absorbance and trace element concentrations, respectively. Three air pollution source factors were identified using principal-component factor analysis: vehicular, crustal, and long-range transport. Land use regression (LUR) models were developed for temporally-adjusted scores of each factor, combining the four study areas. Model performance was assessed using two cross-validation methods. Model explained variance was high for the vehicular factor (R(2)=0.76), moderate for the crustal factor (R(2)=0.46), and low for the long-range transport factor (R(2)=0.19). The cross-validation methods suggested that models for the vehicular and crustal factors moderately accounted for both the between and within-area variability, and therefore can be applied to the four study areas to estimate long-term exposures within the SAPALDIA study population. The combination of source apportionment techniques and LUR modelling may help in identifying air pollution sources and disentangling their contribution to observed health effects in epidemiologic studies

Application of land use regression modelling to assess the spatial distribution of road traffic noise in three European cities

Noise prediction models and noise maps are used to estimate the exposure to road traffic noise, but their availability and the quality of the noise estimates is sometimes limited. This paper explores the application of land use regression (LUR) modelling to assess the long-term intraurban spatial variability of road traffic noise in three European cities. Short-term measurements of road traffic noise taken in Basel, Switzerland (n=60), Girona, Spain (n=40), and Grenoble, France (n=41), were used to develop two LUR models: (a) a "GIS-only" model, which considered only predictor variables derived with Geographic Information Systems; and (b) a "Best" model, which in addition considered the variables collected while visiting the measurement sites. Both noise measurements and noise estimates from LUR models were compared with noise estimates from standard noise models developed for each city by the local authorities. Model performance (adjusted R(2)) was 0.66-0.87 for "GIS-only" models, and 0.70-0.89 for "Best" models. Short-term noise measurements showed a high correlation (r=0.62-0.78) with noise estimates from the standard noise models. LUR noise estimates did not show any systematic differences in the spatial patterns when compared with those from standard noise models. LUR modelling with accurate GIS source data can be a promising tool for noise exposure assessment with applications in epidemiological studies. Betr. Lärmbelastung in Base

Modeling indoor air pollution of outdoor origin in homes of SAPALDIA subjects in Switzerland

Given the shrinking spatial contrasts in outdoor air pollution in Switzerland and the trends toward tightly insulated buildings, the Swiss Cohort Study on Air Pollution and Lung and Heart Diseases in Adults (SAPALDIA) needs to understand to what extent outdoor air pollution remains a determinant for residential indoor exposure. The objectives of this paper are to identify determining factors for indoor air pollution concentrations of particulate matter (PM), ultrafine particles in the size range from 15 to 300nm, black smoke measured as light absorbance of PM (PMabsorbance) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and to develop predictive indoor models for SAPALDIA. Multivariable regression models were developed based on indoor and outdoor measurements among homes of selected SAPALDIA participants in three urban (Basel, Geneva, Lugano) and one rural region (Wald ZH) in Switzerland, various home characteristics and reported indoor sources such as cooking. Outdoor levels of air pollutants were important predictors for indoor air pollutants, except for the coarse particle fraction. The fractions of outdoor concentrations infiltrating indoors were between 30% and 66%, the highest one was observed for PMabsorbance. A modifying effect of open windows was found for NO2 and the ultrafine particle number concentration. Cooking was associated with increased particle and NO2 levels. This study shows that outdoor air pollution remains an important determinant of residential indoor air pollution in Switzerland

Ambient ultrafine particle levels at residential and reference sites in urban and rural Switzerland

Although there is evidence that ultrafine particles (UFP) do affect human health there are currently no legal ambient standards. The main reasons are the absence of spatially resolved exposure data to investigate long-term health effects and the challenge of defining representative reference sites for monitoring given the high dependence of UFP on proximity to sources. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the spatial distribution of UFP in four areas of the Swiss Study on Air Pollution and Lung and Heart Diseases in Adults (SAPALDIA) and to investigate the representativeness of routine air monitoring stations for residential sites in these areas. Repeated UFP measurements during three seasons have been conducted at a total of 80 residential sites and four area specific reference sites over a median duration of 7 days. Arithmetic mean residential PNC scattered around the median of 10,800 particles/cm(3) (interquartile range [IQR] = 7800 particles/cm(3)). Spatial within area contrasts (90th/10th percentile ratios) were around two; increased contrasts were observed during weekday rush-hours. Temporal UFP patterns were comparable at reference and residential sites in all areas. Our data show that central monitoring sites can represent residential conditions when locations are well chosen with respect to the local sources-namely traffic. For epidemiological research, locally resolved spatial models are needed to estimate individuals' long-term exposures to UFP of outdoor origin at home, during commute and at work