A comparison of self reported air pollution problems and GIS-modeled levels of air pollution in people with and without chronic diseases

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Objective</p> <p>To explore various contributors to people's reporting of self reported air pollution problems in area of living, including GIS-modeled air pollution, and to investigate whether those with respiratory or other chronic diseases tend to over-report air pollution problems, compared to healthy people.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Cross-sectional data from the Oslo Health Study (2000–2001) were linked with GIS-modeled air pollution data from the Norwegian Institute of Air Research. Multivariate regression analyses were performed. 14 294 persons aged 30, 40, 45, 60 or 75 years old with complete information on modeled and self reported air pollution were included.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>People who reported air pollution problems were exposed to significantly higher GIS-modeled air pollution levels than those who did not report such problems. People with chronic disease, reported significantly more air pollution problems after adjustment for modeled levels of nitrogen dioxides, socio-demographic variables, smoking, depression, dwelling conditions and an area deprivation index, even if they had a non-respiratory disease. No diseases, however, were significantly associated with levels of nitrogen dioxides.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Self reported air pollution problems in area of living are strongly associated with increased levels of GIS-modeled air pollution. Over and above this, those who report to have a chronic disease tend to report more air pollution problems in area of living, despite no significant difference in air pollution exposure compared to healthy people, and no associations between these diseases and NO₂. Studies on the association between self reported air pollution problems and health should be aware of the possibility that disease itself may influence the reporting of air pollution.</p

Maternal occupational exposure to noise during pregnancy and hearing dysfunction in children : A nationwide prospective cohort study in Sweden

Background: Many women of childbearing age are occupationally active, which leads to a large number of pregnancies potentially exposed to occupational exposures. Occupational noise has been identified as a risk factor for hearing impairment in adults. However, very few studies have assessed the effect of occupational noise on the fetus. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate whether occupational exposure to noise during pregnancy is associated with hearing dysfunction in children. Methods: This population based cohort study included 1,422,333 single births in Sweden 1986–2008. Data on mothers’ occupation, smoking habits, age, ethnicity, body mass index, leave of absence, and socioeconomic factors were obtained from interviews performed by prenatal care unit staff at approximately 10 weeks of gestation and from national registers. Occupational noise exposure was classified by a job–exposure-matrix as <75, 75–84, or ≥ 85 dBLAeq,8h. Diagnosed cases of hearing dysfunction (ICD-10 codes H90.3-7, 91.0, 91.2-3, 91.8, 93.1-2) were identified from a register of specialized medical care. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate associations. Results: In the full sample, containing a mixture of part-time and full-time workers during pregnancy, the adjusted HR for hearing dysfunction associated with maternal occupational noise exposure ≥ 85 vs. <75 dBLAeq,8h was 1.27 (95% CI: 0.99, 1.64; 60 exposed cases). When restricted to children whose mothers worked full-time and had <20 days leave of absence during pregnancy, the corresponding HR was 1.82 (95% CI: 1.08, 3.08; 14 exposed cases). Conclusions: This study showed an association between occupational noise exposure during pregnancy and hearing dysfunction in children. In view of mechanistic evidence and earlier indicative epidemiological and experimental findings, the results support that pregnant women should not be exposed to high levels of noise at work