To quantify nationwide disparities in the location of particulate matter (PM)-emitting facilities by the characteristics of the surrounding residential population and to illustrate various spatial ...scales at which to consider such disparities.
We assigned facilities emitting PM in the 2011 National Emissions Inventory to nearby block groups across the 2009 to 2013 American Community Survey population. We calculated the burden from these emissions for racial/ethnic groups and by poverty status. We quantified disparities nationally and for each state and county in the country.
For PM of 2.5 micrometers in diameter or less, those in poverty had 1.35 times higher burden than did the overall population, and non-Whites had 1.28 times higher burden. Blacks, specifically, had 1.54 times higher burden than did the overall population. These patterns were relatively unaffected by sensitivity analyses, and disparities held not only nationally but within most states and counties as well.
Disparities in burden from PM-emitting facilities exist at multiple geographic scales. Disparities for Blacks are more pronounced than are disparities on the basis of poverty status. Strictly socioeconomic considerations may be insufficient to reduce PM burdens equitably across populations.
Background: Epidemiological, controlled human exposure, and toxicological studies have demonstrated a variety of health effects in response to particulate matter (PM) exposure with some of these ...studies indicating that populations with certain characteristics may be disproportionately affected. Objective: To identify populations potentially at greatest risk for PM-related health effects, we evaluated epidemiological studies that examined various characteristics that may influence susceptibility, while using results from controlled human exposure and toxicological studies as supporting evidence. Additionally, we formulated a definition of susceptibility, building from the varied and inconsistent definitions of susceptibility and vulnerability used throughout the literature. Data synthesis: We evaluated recent epidemiological studies to identify characteristics of populations potentially susceptible to PM-related health effects. Additionally, we evaluated controlled human exposure and toxicological studies to provide supporting evidence. We conducted a comprehensive review of epidemiological studies that presented stratified results (e.g., < 65 vs. ≥ 65 years of age), controlled human exposure studies that examined individuals with underlying disease, and toxicological studies that used animal models of disease. We evaluated results for consistency across studies, coherence across disciplines, and biological plausibility to assess the potential for increased susceptibility to PM-related health effects in a specific population or ufe stage. Conclusions: We identified a diverse group of characteristics that can lead to increased risk of PM-related health effects, including life stage (i.e., children and older adults), preexisting cardiovascular or respiratory diseases, genetic polymorphisms, and low-socioeconomic status. In addition, we crafted a comprehensive definition of susceptibility that can be used to encompass all populations potentially at increased risk of adverse health effects as a consequence of exposure to an air pollutant.
Abstract Purpose Air pollution epidemiology traditionally focuses on the relationship between individual air pollutants and health outcomes (e.g., mortality). To account for potential copollutant ...confounding, individual pollutant associations are often estimated by adjusting or controlling for other pollutants in the mixture. Recently, the need to characterize the relationship between health outcomes and the larger multipollutant mixture has been emphasized in an attempt to better protect public health and inform more sustainable air quality management decisions. Methods New and innovative statistical methods to examine multipollutant exposures were identified through a broad literature search, with a specific focus on those statistical approaches currently used in epidemiologic studies of short-term exposures to criteria air pollutants (i.e., particulate matter, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and ozone). Results Five broad classes of statistical approaches were identified for examining associations between short-term multipollutant exposures and health outcomes, specifically additive main effects, effect measure modification, unsupervised dimension reduction, supervised dimension reduction, and nonparametric methods. These approaches are characterized including advantages and limitations in different epidemiologic scenarios. Discussion By highlighting the characteristics of various studies in which multipollutant statistical methods have been used, this review provides epidemiologists and biostatisticians with a resource to aid in the selection of the most optimal statistical method to use when examining multipollutant exposures.
Exposure to ozone has been linked to reproductive outcomes, including preterm birth. In this systematic review, we summarize published epidemiologic cohort and case-control studies examining ozone ...exposures (estimated on a continuous scale) in early pregnancy (1st and 2nd trimesters (T1, T2)) and preterm birth using ratio measures, and perform a meta-analysis to evaluate the potential relationship between them. Studies were identified by searching PubMed and Web of Science, screened according to predefined inclusion/exclusion criteria, and evaluated for study quality. We extracted study data including effect estimates, confidence limits, study location, study years, ozone exposure assessment method, and mean or median ozone concentrations. Nineteen studies were identified and included, of which 18 examined T1 exposure (17 reported effect estimates), and 15 examined T2 exposure. Random effects meta-analysis was performed in the metafor package, R 3.5.3. The pooled OR (95% CI) for a 10 ppb increase in ozone exposure in T1 was 1.06 (1.03, 1.10) with a 95% prediction interval of 0.95, 1.19; for T2 it was 1.05 (1.02, 1.08) with a 95% prediction interval of 0.95, 1.16. Effect estimates for both exposure periods showed high heterogeneity. In meta-regression analyses of study characteristics, study location (continent) explained some (~20%) heterogeneity for T1 exposure studies, but no characteristic explained a substantial amount of heterogeneity for T2 exposure studies. Increased ozone exposure during early pregnancy is associated with preterm birth across studies.
•Systematic review and meta-analysis of early pregnancy ozone and preterm birth.•Both 1st and 2nd trimester ozone exposures positively associated with preterm birth.•High heterogeneity across studies, largely not explained by study characteristics.•Similarities in study design lead to little variability in study quality.
(2020) applies the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Environmental Benefits Mapping and Analysis Program–Community Edition (BenMAP-CE) (Sacks et al. 2018) to quantify the public health ...impact of changes in fine particulate matter particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter ≤2.5μm ≤ 2.5μ m ( PM2.5 PM 2.5 ) due to the U.S. Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative on children’s health. Specifically, the choice of these health outcomes for quantitative analysis may signal to the public more confidence in the relationship between exposure to air pollution and preterm birth, term low birth weight, and autism spectrum disorder than is supported by the available scientific evidence. (2020) are correct that the focus should be on health outcomes where the evidence supports a “causal or likely to be causal relationship,” as is the practice of the U.S. EPA in the process of conducting regulatory impact analyses for the National Ambient Air Quality Standards.
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Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VSZLJ
We performed an exploratory analysis of ozone (O3) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations during early pregnancy and multiple types of birth defects. Data on births were obtained from the ...Texas Birth Defects Registry (TBDR) and the National Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS) in Texas. Air pollution concentrations were previously determined by combining modeled air pollution concentrations with air monitoring data. The analysis generated hypotheses for future, confirmatory studies; although many of the observed associations were null. The hypotheses are provided by an observed association between O3 and craniosynostosis and inverse associations between PM2.5 and septal and obstructive heart defects in the TBDR. Associations with PM2.5 for septal heart defects and ventricular outflow tract obstructions were null using the NBDPS. Both the TBDR and the NBPDS had inverse associations between O3 and septal heart defects. Further research to confirm the observed associations is warranted.
•Air pollution concentrations combined modeled air data and air monitoring data.•No associations were observed between the majority of birth defects and PM2.5 and O3.•Estimated associations between PM2.5 and certain heart defects varied by dataset.•Results were suggestive of an inverse association between O3 and septal heart defects.•Higher O3 concentrations may be associated with increased odds of craniosynostosis.
Although most observed associations between ozone and fine particulate matter concentrations and birth defects were null, some were present and warrant further consideration.
Black carbon (BC) is a ubiquitous component of particulate matter (PM) emitted from combustion-related sources and is associated with a number of health outcomes.
We conducted a systematic review to ...evaluate the potential for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality following exposure to ambient BC, or the related component elemental carbon (EC), in the context of what is already known about the associations between exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and cardiovascular health outcomes.
We conducted a stepwise systematic literature search of the PubMed database and employed Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines for reporting our results.
Studies meeting inclusion criteria (i.e., include a quantitative measurement of BC or EC used to characterize exposure and an effect estimate of the association of the exposure metric with ED visits, hospital admissions, or mortality due to cardiovascular disease) were evaluated for risk of bias in study design and results.
Risk of bias evaluations assess some aspects of internal validity of study findings based on study design, conduct, and reporting and identify potential issues related to confounding or other biases.
The results of our systematic review demonstrate similar results for BC or EC and PM2.5; that is, a generally modest, positive association of each pollutant measurement with cardiovascular emergency department visits, hospital admissions, and mortality. There is no clear evidence that health risks are greater for either BC or EC when compared to one another, or when either is compared to PM2.5.
We were unable to adequately evaluate the role of copollutant confounding or differential spatial heterogeneity for BC or EC compared to PM2.5.
Overall, the evidence at present indicates that BC or EC is consistently associated with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality but is not sufficient to conclude that BC or EC is independently associated with these effects rather than being an indicator for PM2.5 mass.
Not available.
•Regional differences in PM2.5-related health effects are often observed and may be explained by differences in PM2.5 components observed in different geographical regions•We examine whether or not there is clear evidence for an independent effect of BC, separate from that attributed to PM2.5, on cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.•Our results demonstrate generally similar risk for BC or EC and PM2.5; that is, generally modest, positive associations of each of these pollutant measurements with cardiovascular outcomes.•The possibility that the similarities in results for BC or EC and PM2.5 could be due to greater exposure measurement error due to the greater spatial heterogeneity of BC and EC, especially in the presence of on-road sources, cannot be ruled out.•Our systematic review indicates that BC or EC is consistently associated with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, but is not sufficient to conclude that BC or EC is not just an indicator for PM mass
Understanding the impact that environmental exposure during different stages of pregnancy has on the risk of adverse birth outcomes is vital for protection of the fetus and for the development of ...mechanistic explanations of exposure-disease relationships. As a result, statistical models to estimate critical windows of susceptibility have been developed for several different reproductive outcomes and pollutants. However, these current methods fail to adequately address the primary objective of this line of research; how to statistically identify a critical window of susceptibility. In this article, we introduce critical window variable selection (CWVS), a hierarchical Bayesian framework that directly addresses this question while simultaneously providing improved estimation of the risk parameters. Through simulation, we show that CWVS outperforms existing competing techniques in the setting of highly temporally correlated exposures in terms of (i) correctly identifying critical windows and (ii) accurately estimating risk parameters. We apply all competing methods to a case/control analysis of pregnant women in North Carolina, 2005-2008, with respect to the development of very preterm birth and exposure to ambient ozone and particulate matter $<$ 2.5 $\mu$m in aerodynamic diameter, and identify/estimate the critical windows of susceptibility. The newly developed method is implemented in the R package CWVS.
Epidemiologic literature suggests that exposure to air pollutants is associated with fetal development.
We investigated maternal exposures to air pollutants during weeks 2-8 of pregnancy and their ...associations with congenital heart defects.
Mothers from the National Birth Defects Prevention Study, a nine-state case-control study, were assigned 1-week and 7-week averages of daily maximum concentrations of carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, and sulfur dioxide and 24-hr measurements of fine and coarse particulate matter using the closest air monitor within 50 km to their residence during early pregnancy. Depending on the pollutant, a maximum of 4,632 live-birth controls and 3,328 live-birth, fetal-death, or electively terminated cases had exposure data. Hierarchical regression models, adjusted for maternal demographics and tobacco and alcohol use, were constructed. Principal component analysis was used to assess these relationships in a multipollutant context.
Positive associations were observed between exposure to nitrogen dioxide and coarctation of the aorta and pulmonary valve stenosis. Exposure to fine particulate matter was positively associated with hypoplastic left heart syndrome but inversely associated with atrial septal defects. Examining individual exposure-weeks suggested associations between pollutants and defects that were not observed using the 7-week average. Associations between left ventricular outflow tract obstructions and nitrogen dioxide and between hypoplastic left heart syndrome and particulate matter were supported by findings from the multipollutant analyses, although estimates were attenuated at the highest exposure levels.
Using daily maximum pollutant levels and exploring individual exposure-weeks revealed some positive associations between certain pollutants and defects and suggested potential windows of susceptibility during pregnancy.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VSZLJ
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