Air pollution and cardiovascular and respiratory emergency visits in Central Arkansas: A time-series analysis

Background: Heart disease and stroke mortality and morbidity rates in Arkansas are among the highest in the U.S. While the effect of air pollution on cardiovascular health was identified in traffic-dominated metropolitan areas, there is a lack of studies for populations with variable exposure profiles, demographic and disease characteristics. Objective: Determine the short-term effects of air pollution on cardiovascular and respiratory morbidity in the stroke and heart failure belt. Methods: We investigated the associations of fine particles and ozone with respiratory and cardiovascular emergency room visits during the 2002-2012 period for adults in Central Arkansas using Poisson generalized models adjusted for temporal, seasonal and meteorological effects. We evaluated sensitivity of the associations to mutual pollutant adjustment and effect modification patterns by sex, age, race and season. Results: We found effects on cardiovascular and respiratory emergencies for PM2.5 (1.52% [95% (confidence interval) CI: -1.10%, 4.20%]; 1.45% [95%CI: -2.64%, 5.72%] per 10μg/m3) and O3 (0.93% [95%CI: -0.87%, 2.76%]; 0.76 [95%CI: -1.92%, 3.52%] per 10ppbv) during the cold period (October-March). The effects were stronger among whites, except for the respiratory effects of O3 that were higher among Blacks/African-Americans. Effect modification patterns by age and sex differed by association. Both pollutants were associated with increases in emergency room visits for hypertension, heart failure and asthma. Effects on cardiovascular and respiratory emergencies were observed during the cold period when particulate matter was dominated by secondary nitrate and wood burning. Conclusion: Outdoor particulate pollution during winter had an effect on cardiovascular morbidity in central Arkansas, the region with high stroke and heart disease incidence rates. © 2015 Elsevier B.V

Quantification of environmental tobacco smoke contribution on outdoor particulate aliphatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

The objective of this study was to identify and quantify the sources of fine particulate aliphatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in an urban area in southeastern Europe. A total of 91 urban PM2.5 samples were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry for alkanes and PAHs. Exploratory statistical tools were applied to resolve a decreased number of components based on the variation of measurements. Molecular markers and diagnostic ratios were examined to assign retained components to specific sources. The contributions of the sources were estimated by multivariate linear regression. Sources of aliphatic and PAHs hydrocarbons included primary particles from traffic (3.9 ng/m3 for alkanes and 240 pg/m 3 for PAHs), evaporative fugitive (4.0 ng/m3 for alkanes and 93 pg/m3 for PAHs), and unburnt fuels and oil residues (1.1 ng/m3 for alkanes and 230 pg/m3 for PAHs). For the first time, we quantified the contribution of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), which accounted for 5.2 ng/m3 of alkanes and 128 pg/m3 of PAHs. The findings of this study underlined the persistence of ETS and possible exposures to significant quantities of tobacco residues outdoors. Tobacco smoke is known to induce adverse respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses and increased risk for cancer. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media New York

Ambient air pollution and respiratory health effects in mail carriers

Mail carriers represent an occupational group suffering from respiratory symptoms and lung function impairment. Although environmental conditions may play role, information on the effects of air pollution exposure in this population is lacking. The present study was conducted in Athens, Greece, in order to investigate the adverse effects of long-term air pollution exposure on respiratory outcomes in mail carriers. A total of 226 mail carriers and 73 office employees were enroled. Information on respiratory symptoms, medical, occupational, residential and smoking history was obtained through a questionnaire. Flow-volume curves were performed in the workplace using a portable spirometer. Individualised personal exposure assessment has been applied based on long-term residential and occupational subject history linked with geographical air pollution distribution. Furthermore, personal measurements were obtained for forty-one mail carriers using NO2 and O3 passive samplers, assuming that current air pollution exposure is sufficiently representative of long-term, previous exposure to make a plausible link with current health status. The analysis based on exposures estimated on the basis of residential and work addresses showed that the most exposed to PM10 postal workers have rhinitis at a higher rate (OR=1.67, 95% CI: 1.01-2.75). In mail carriers there is indication that those exposed to higher concentrations of Ο3 or PM10 have a greater possibility to present rhinitis (OR=1.63, 95% CI: 0.93-2.88 and OR=1.70, 95% CI: 0.96-3.03, respectively). The effect of O3 on rhinitis became even more apparent in the analysis based on exposures assessed by personal measurements (OR=6.74, 95% CI: 1.24-36.55). Exposure to NO2 was significantly associated with decrements in lung function. For office employees the exposure to air pollutants was not associated to any adverse respiratory outcome. Our findings suggest that air pollution is a contributing factor for the occurrence of rhinitis and lung function impairment in mail carriers. © 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Investigation of the relationships between ambient fixed and residential outdoor particle measurements in Athens area

Μη διαθέσιμη περίληψηNot available summarizationΠαρουσιάστηκε στο: 8 th International Conference “Protection and Restoration of the Environment VIII

Particulate matter air pollution and respiratory symptoms in individuals having either asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A European multicentre panel study

Background: Particulate matter air pollution has been associated with adverse health effects. The fraction of ambient particles that are mainly responsible for the observed health effects is still a matter of controversy. Better characterization of the health relevant particle fraction will have major implications for air quality policy since it will determine which sources should be controlled. The RUPIOH study, an EU-funded multicentre study, was designed to examine the distribution of various ambient particle metrics in four European cities (Amsterdam, Athens, Birmingham, Helsinki) and assess their health effects in participants with asthma or COPD, based on a detailed exposure assessment. In this paper the association of central site measurements with respiratory symptoms and restriction of activities is examined. Methods. At each centre a panel of participants with either asthma or COPD recorded respiratory symptoms and restriction of activities in a diary for six months. Exposure assessment included simultaneous measurements of coarse, fine and ultrafine particles at a central site. Data on gaseous pollutants were also collected. The associations of the 24-hour average concentrations of air pollution indices with the health outcomes were assessed in a hierarchical modelling approach. A city specific analysis controlling for potential confounders was followed by a meta-analysis to provide overall effect estimates. Results: A 10 g/m3 increase in previous day coarse particles concentrations was positively associated with most symptoms (an increase of 0.6 to 0.7% in average) and limitation in walking (OR= 1.076, 95% CI: 1.026-1.128). Same day, previous day and previous two days ozone concentrations were positively associated with cough (OR= 1.061, 95% CI: 1.013-1.111; OR= 1.049, 95% CI: 1.016-1.083 and OR= 1.059, 95% CI: 1.027-1.091, respectively). No consistent associations were observed between fine particle concentrations, nitrogen dioxide and respiratory health effects. As for particle number concentrations negative association (mostly non-significant at the nominal level) was observed with most symptoms whilst the positive association with limitation of activities did not reach the nominal level of significance. Conclusions: The observed associations with coarse particles are in agreement with the findings of toxicological studies. Together they suggest it is prudent to regulate also coarse particles in addition to fine particles. © 2012 Karakatsani et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

Association between exhaled breath condensate nitrate + nitrite levels with ambient coarse particle exposure in subjects with airways disease

Objectives: Studies of individual inflammatory responses to exposure to air pollution are few but are important in defining the most sensitive markers in better understanding pathophysiological pathways in the lung. The goal of this study was to assess whether exposure to airborne particles is associated with oxidative stress in an epidemiological setting. Methods: The authors assessed exposure to particulate matter air pollution in four European cities in relation to levels of nitrite plus nitrate (NOx) in exhaled breath condensate (EBC) measurements in 133 subjects with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease using an EBC capture method developed for field use. In each subject, three measurements were collected. Exposure measurements included particles smaller than 10 μm (PM 10), smaller than 2.5 μm (PM 2.5) and particle number counts at a central site, outdoors near the subject's home and indoors. Results: There were positive and significant relationships between EBC NOx and coarse particles at the central sampling sites (increase of 20.4% (95% CI 6.1% to 36.6%) per 10 μg/m 3 increase of coarse particles of the previous day) but not between EBC NOx and other particle measures. Associations tended to be stronger in subjects not taking steroid medication. Conclusions: An association was found between exposure to ambient coarse particles at central sites and EBC NOx, a marker of oxidative stress. The lack of association between PM measures more indicative of personal exposures (particularly indoor exposure) means interpretation should be cautious. However, EBC NOx may prove to be a marker of PM-induced oxidative stress in epidemiological studies

Dependence of home outdoor particulate mass and number concentrations on residential and traffic features in urban areas

The associations between residential outdoor and ambient particle mass, fine particle absorbance, particle number (PN) concentrations, and residential and traffic determinants were investigated in four European urban areas (Helsinki, Athens, Amsterdam, and Birmingham). A total of 152 nonsmoking participants with respiratory diseases, not exposed to occupational pollution, were included in the study, which comprised a 7-day intensive exposure monitoring period of both indoor and home outdoor particle mass and number concentrations. The same pollutants were also continuously measured at ambient fixed sites centrally located to the studied areas (fixed ambient sites). Relationships between concentrations measured directly outside the homes (residential outdoor) and at the fixed ambient sites were pollutant-specific, with substantial variations among the urban areas. Differences were more pronounced for coarse particles due to resuspension of road dust and PN, which is strongly related to traffic emissions. Less significant outdoor-to-fixed variation for particle mass was observed for Amsterdam and Birmingham, predominantly due to regional secondary aerosol. On the contrary, a strong spatial variation was observed for Athens and to a lesser extent for Helsinki. This was attributed to the overwhelming and time-varied inputs from traffic and other local sources. The location of the residence and traffic volume and distance to street and traffic light were important determinants of residential outdoor particle concentrations. On average, particle mass levels in suburban areas were less than 30% of those measured for residences located in the city center. Residences located less than 10 m from a street experienced 133% higher PN concentrations than residences located further away. Overall, the findings of this multi-city study, indicated that (1) spatial variation was larger for PN than for fine particulate matter (PM) mass and varied between the cities, (2) vehicular emissions in the residential street and location in the center of the city were significant predictors of spatial variation, and (3) the impact of traffic and location in the city was much larger for PN than for fine particle mass. Copyright 2007 Air & Waste Management Association

Temporal variations of atmospheric aerosol in four European urban areas

Purpose: The concentrations of PM10 mass, PM2.5 mass and particle number were continuously measured for 18 months in urban background locations across Europe to determine the spatial and temporal variability of particulate matter. Methods: Daily PM10 and PM2.5 samples were continuously collected from October 2002 to April 2004 in background areas in Helsinki, Athens, Amsterdam and Birmingham. Particle mass was determined using analytical microbalances with precision of 1 μg. Pre- and post-reflectance measurements were taken using smoke-stain reflectometers. One-minute measurements of particle number were obtained using condensation particle counters. Results: The 18-month mean PM10 and PM2.5 mass concentrations ranged from 15.4 μg/m3 in Helsinki to 56.7 μg/m3 in Athens and from 9.0 μg/m3 in Helsinki to 25.0 μg/m3 in Athens, respectively. Particle number concentrations ranged from 10,091 part/cm3 in Helsinki to 24,180 part/cm3 in Athens with highest levels being measured in winter. Fine particles accounted for more than 60% of PM10 with the exception of Athens where PM2.5 comprised 43% of PM10. Higher PM mass and number concentrations were measured in winter as compared to summer in all urban areas at a significance level p < 0.05. Conclusions: Significant quantitative and qualitative differences for particle mass across the four urban areas in Europe were observed. These were due to strong local and regional characteristics of particulate pollution sources which contribute to the heterogeneity of health responses. In addition, these findings also bear on the ability of different countries to comply with existing directives and the effectiveness of mitigation policies. © 2011 Springer-Verlag