Environment international
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Environment international · Dec 2018
A population-based birth cohort study of the association between childhood-onset asthma and exposure to industrial air pollutant emissions.
Studies of the association between air pollution and asthma onset have mostly focused on urban and traffic-related air pollution. We investigated the associations between exposure to industrial emissions and childhood-onset asthma in a population-based birth cohort in Quebec, Canada, 2002-2011. ⋯ In this population-based birth cohort, residential exposure to industrial air pollutant emissions was associated with childhood-onset asthma. Additional studies with improved models for estimating exposure to industrial point-sources are needed to further support the observed associations.
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Environment international · Dec 2018
Assessment of impact of traffic-related air pollution on morbidity and mortality in Copenhagen Municipality and the health gain of reduced exposure.
Health impact assessment (HIA) of exposure to air pollution is commonly based on city level (fine) particle concentration and may underestimate health consequences of changing local traffic. Exposure to traffic-related air pollution can be assessed at a high resolution by modelling levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), which together with ultrafine particles mainly originate from diesel-powered vehicles in urban areas. The purpose of this study was to estimate the health benefits of reduced exposure to vehicle emissions assessed as NO2 at the residence among the citizens of Copenhagen Municipality, Denmark. ⋯ Reducing the NO2 exposure by controlling traffic-related air pollution reduces the occurrence of some of the most prevalent chronic diseases and increases life expectancy. Such health benefits can be quantified by DYNAMO-HIA in a high resolution exposure modelling. This paper demonstrates how traffic planners can assess health benefits from reduced levels of traffic-related air pollution.
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Environment international · Nov 2018
Subtle excess in lifetime cancer risk related to CT scanning in Spanish young people.
CT scan is a life-saving medical diagnostic tool, entailing higher levels of ionising radiation exposure than conventional radiography, which may result in an increase in cancer risk, particularly in children. Information about the use and potential health effects of CT scan imaging among young people in Spain is scarce. ⋯ Despite the undeniable medical effectiveness of CT scans, this risk assessment suggests a small excess in cancer cases which underlines the need for justification and optimisation in paediatric scanning. Given the intrinsic uncertainties of these risk projection exercises, care should be taken when interpreting the predicted risks.
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Environment international · Nov 2018
The Australian Child Health and Air Pollution Study (ACHAPS): A national population-based cross-sectional study of long-term exposure to outdoor air pollution, asthma, and lung function.
Most studies of long-term air pollution exposure and children's respiratory health have been performed in urban locations with moderate pollution levels. We assessed the effect of outdoor nitrogen dioxide (NO2), as a proxy for urban air pollution, on current asthma and lung function in Australia, a low-pollution setting. We undertook a national population-based cross-sectional study of children aged 7-11 years living in 12 Australian cities. ⋯ Increased NO2 exposure was significantly associated with decreased percent predicted FEV1 (-1.35 percentage points [95% CI: -2.21, -0.49]) and FVC (-1.19 percentage points [95% CI: -2.04, -0.35], and an increase in FeNO of 71% (95% CI: 38%, 112%). Exposure to outdoor NO2 was associated with adverse respiratory health effects in this population-based sample of Australian children. The relatively low NO2 levels at which these effects were observed highlight the potential benefits of continuous exposure reduction.
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Environment international · Oct 2018
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyCardiovascular function and ozone exposure: The Multicenter Ozone Study in oldEr Subjects (MOSES).
To date, there have been relatively few studies of acute cardiovascular responses to controlled ozone inhalation, although a number of observational studies have reported significant positive associations between both ambient ozone levels and acute cardiovascular events and long-term ozone exposure and cardiovascular mortality. ⋯ In this multicenter study of older healthy women and men, there was no convincing evidence for acute effects of 3-h, relatively low-level ozone exposures on cardiovascular function. However, we cannot exclude the possibility of effects with higher ozone concentrations, more prolonged exposure, or in subjects with underlying cardiovascular disease. Further, we cannot exclude the possibility that exposure to ambient ozone and other pollutants in the days before the experimental exposures obscured or blunted cardiovascular biomarker response to the controlled ozone exposures.