There is growing awareness that indoor exposure to particulate matter with diameter ≤ 2.5 μm (PM2.5) is associated with an increased risk of adverse health effects. Cooking is a key indoor source of ...PM2.5 and an activity conducted daily in most homes. Population scale models can predict occupant exposures to PM2.5, but these predictions are sensitive to the emission rates used. Reported emission rates are highly variable and are typically for the cooking of single ingredients and not full meals. Accordingly, there is a need to assess PM2.5 emissions from the cooking of complete meals. Mean PM2.5 emission rates and source strengths were measured for four complete meals. Temporal PM2.5 concentrations and particle size distributions were recorded using an optical particle counter (OPC), and gravimetric sampling was used to determine calibration factors. Mean emission rates and source strengths varied between 0.54—3.7 mg/min and 15—68 mg, respectively, with 95% confidence. Using a cooker hood (apparent capture efficiency > 90%) and frying in non‐stick pans were found to significantly reduce emissions. OPC calibration factors varied between 1.5 and 5.0 showing that a single value cannot be used for all meals and that gravimetric sampling is necessary when measuring PM2.5 concentrations in kitchens.
The aim of this study was to explore the association between the building‐related occupants’ reported health symptoms and the indoor pollutant concentrations in a sample of 148 office rooms, within ...the framework of the European OFFICAIR research project. A large field campaign was performed in 37 office buildings among eight countries, which included (a) 5‐day air sampling of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), aldehydes, ozone, and NO2 (b) collection of information from 1299 participants regarding their personal characteristics and health perception at workplace using online questionnaires. Stepwise and multilevel logistic regressions were applied to investigate associations between health symptoms and pollutant concentrations considering personal characteristics as confounders. Occupants of offices with higher pollutant concentrations were more likely to report health symptoms. Among the studied VOCs, xylenes were associated with general (such as headache and tiredness) and skin symptoms, ethylbenzene with eye irritation and respiratory symptoms, a‐pinene with respiratory and heart symptoms, d‐limonene with general symptoms, and styrene with skin symptoms. Among aldehydes, formaldehyde was associated with respiratory and general symptoms, acrolein with respiratory symptoms, propionaldehyde with respiratory, general, and heart symptoms, and hexanal with general SBS. Ozone was associated with almost all symptom groups.
Background: Air pollution exposure during pregnancy might affect placental growth and function, perhaps leading to pregnancy complications. Objective: We prospectively evaluated the associations of ...maternal air pollution exposure with markers of placental growth and function among 7,801 pregnant women in the Netherlands. Methods: We estimated levels of particulate matter ≤ 10 μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM10) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) at the home address for different periods during pregnancy using dispersion modeling techniques. Pro- and anti-angiogenic factors placental growth factor (PlGF) and soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt-1), respectively were measured in first- and second-trimester maternal blood and in fetal cord blood samples at delivery. Pulsatility index of the uterine and umbilical arteries was measured by Doppler ultrasound in second and third trimester, and notching was assessed in third trimester. Placenta weight and birth weight were obtained from medical records. Results: Higher PM10 and NO2 exposure levels were associated with lower second-trimester maternal sFlt-1 and PlGF levels. PM10 and NO2 exposures averaged over total pregnancy were associated with higher sFlt-1 and lower PlGF levels in fetal cord blood, consistent with an anti-angiogenic state. PM10 and NO2 exposures were not consistently associated with second- or third-trimester placental resistance indices. NO2 exposure was associated with third-trimester notching (odds ratio 1.33; 95% CI: 0.99, 1.78 per 10-μg/m3 increase in the prior 2 months). PM10 and NO2 exposures were associated with lower placenta weight (—11.8 g; 95% CI: —20.9, —2.7, and —10.7 g; 95% CI: —19.0, —2.4, respectively, per 10-μg/3 increase in the prior 2 months), but not with placenta to birth weight ratio. Conclusions: Our results suggest that maternal air pollution exposure may influence markers of placental growth and function. Future studies are needed to confirm these findings and explore the maternal and fetal consequences.
The aim of this study was to identify determinants of aldehyde and volatile organic compound (VOC) indoor air concentrations in a sample of more than 140 office rooms, in the framework of the ...European OFFICAIR research project. A large field campaign was performed, which included (a) the air sampling of aldehydes and VOCs in 37 newly built or recently retrofitted office buildings across 8 European countries in summer and winter and (b) the collection of information on building and offices’ characteristics using checklists. Linear mixed models for repeated measurements were applied to identify the main factors affecting the measured concentrations of selected indoor air pollutants (IAPs). Several associations between aldehydes and VOCs concentrations and buildings’ structural characteristic or occupants’ activity patterns were identified. The aldehyde and VOC determinants in office buildings include building and furnishing materials, indoor climate characteristics (room temperature and relative humidity), the use of consumer products (eg, cleaning and personal care products, office equipment), as well as the presence of outdoor sources in the proximity of the buildings (ie, vehicular traffic). Results also showed that determinants of indoor air concentrations varied considerably among different type of pollutants.
The European project OFFICAIR aimed to broaden the existing knowledge regarding indoor air quality (IAQ) in modern office buildings, i.e., recently built or refurbished buildings. Thirty-seven office ...buildings participated in the summer campaign (2012), and thirty-five participated in the winter campaign (2012−2013). Four rooms were investigated per building. The target pollutants were twelve volatile organic compounds, seven aldehydes, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter <2.5μm (PM2.5). Compared to other studies in office buildings, the benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene concentrations were lower in OFFICAIR buildings, while the α-pinene and d-limonene concentrations were higher, and the aldehyde, nitrogen dioxide and PM2.5 concentrations were of the same order of magnitude. When comparing summer and winter, significantly higher concentrations were measured in summer for formaldehyde and ozone, and in winter for benzene, α-pinene, d-limonene, and nitrogen dioxide. The terpene and 2-ethylhexanol concentrations showed heterogeneity within buildings regardless of the season. Considering the average of the summer and winter concentrations, the acetaldehyde and hexanal concentrations tended to increase by 4–5% on average with every floor level increase, and the nitrogen dioxide concentration tended to decrease by 3% on average with every floor level increase. A preliminary evaluation of IAQ in terms of potential irritative and respiratory health effects was performed. The 5-day median and maximum indoor air concentrations of formaldehyde and ozone did not exceed their respective WHO air quality guidelines, and those of acrolein, α-pinene, and d-limonene were lower than their estimated thresholds for irritative and respiratory effects. PM2.5 indoor concentrations were higher than the 24-h and annual WHO ambient air quality guidelines.
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•VOCs, aldehydes, O3, NO2 and PM2.5 were measured in 37 office buildings in 2 seasons.•The α-pinene and d-limonene concentrations were higher compared to those from past studies.•The indoor concentrations in summer and winter varied significantly.•An influence of floor level on indoor concentrations was observed for some pollutants.•An evaluation of IAQ in terms of respiratory health effects was performed.
Background: Exposure to air pollution has been associated with higher C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, suggesting an inflammatory response. Not much is known about this association in pregnancy. ...Objectives: We investigated the associations of air pollution exposure during pregnancy with maternal and fetal CRP levels in a population-based cohort study in the Netherlands. Methods: Particulate matter (PM) with an aerodynamic diameter ≤ 10 μm (PM₁₀) and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) levels were estimated at the home address using dispersion modeling for different averaging periods preceding the blood sampling (1 week, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, and total pregnancy). High-sensitivity CRP levels were measured in maternal blood samples in early pregnancy (n = 5,067) and in fetal cord blood samples at birth (n = 4,450). Results: Compared with the lowest quartile, higher PM₁₀ exposure levels for the prior 1 and 2 weeks were associated with elevated maternal CRP levels (> 8 μg/L) in the first trimester fourth PM, 0 quartile for the prior week: odds ratio (OR), 1.32; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.08, 1.61; third PM₁₀ quartile for the prior 2 weeks: OR, 1.28; 95% CI: 1.06, 1.56; however, no clear doseresponse relationships were observed. PM₁₀ and NO₂ exposure levels for 1, 2, and 4 weeks preceding delivery were not consistently associated with fetal CRP levels at delivery. Higher long-term PM₁₀ and NO₂ exposure levels (total pregnancy) were associated with elevated fetal CRP levels (> 1 μg/L) at delivery (fourth quartile PM₁₀: OR, 2.18; 95% CI: 1.08, 4.38; fourth quartile NO 2 : OR, 3.42; 95% CI: 1.36, 8.58;p-values for trend < 0.05). Conclusions: Our results suggest that exposure to air pollution during pregnancy may lead to maternal and fetal inflammatory responses.
Epigenetic variability is hypothesized as a regulatory pathway through which prenatal exposures may influence child development and health.
We sought to examine the associations of residential ...proximity to roadways at birth and epigenome-wide DNA methylation. We also assessed associations of differential methylation with child cognitive outcomes.
We estimated residential proximity to roadways at birth using a geographic information system (GIS) and cord blood methylation using Illumina's HumanMethylation450-array in 482 mother-child pairs in Project Viva. We identified individual CpGs associated with residential-proximity-to-roadways at birth using robust linear regression Formula: see text. We also estimated association between proximity-to-roadways at birth and methylation of the same sites in blood samples collected at age 7-11 y (Formula: see text). We ran the same analyses in the Generation R Study for replication (Formula: see text). In Project Viva, we investigated associations of differential methylation at birth with midchildhood cognition using linear regression.
Living closer to major roadways at birth was associated with higher cord blood (and-more weakly-midchildhood blood) methylation of four sites in LAMB2. For each halving of residential-proximity-to-major-roadways, we observed a 0.82% increase in DNA methylation at cg05654765 95% confidence interval (CI): (0.54%, 1.10%), 0.88% at cg14099457 95% CI: (0.56%, 1.19%), 0.19% at cg03732535 95% CI: (0.11%, 0.28), and 1.08% at cg02954987 95% CI: (0.65%, 1.51%). Higher cord blood methylation of these sites was associated with lower midchildhood nonverbal cognitive scores. Our results did not replicate in the Generation R Study.
Our discovery results must be interpreted with caution, given that they were not replicated in a separate cohort. However, living close to major roadways at birth was associated with cord blood methylation of sites in LAMB2-a gene known to be linked to axonal development-in our U.S. cohort. Higher methylation of these sites associated with lower nonverbal cognitive scores at age 7-11 y in the same children. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP2034.
Indoor environmental conditions (thermal, noise, light, and indoor air quality) may affect workers' comfort, and consequently their health and well-being, as well as their productivity. This study ...aimed to assess the relations between perceived indoor environment and occupants' comfort, and to examine the modifying effects of both personal and building characteristics. Within the framework of the European project OFFICAIR, a questionnaire survey was administered to 7441 workers in 167 "modern" office buildings in eight European countries (Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain). Occupants assessed indoor environmental quality (IEQ) using both crude IEQ items (satisfaction with thermal comfort, noise, light, and indoor air quality), and detailed items related to indoor environmental parameters (e.g., too hot/cold temperature, humid/dry air, noise inside/outside, natural/artificial light, odor) of their office environment. Ordinal logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the relations between perceived IEQ and occupants' comfort. The highest association with occupants' overall comfort was found for "noise", followed by "air quality", "light" and "thermal" satisfaction. Analysis of detailed parameters revealed that "noise inside the buildings" was highly associated with occupants' overall comfort. "Layout of the offices" was the next parameter highly associated with overall comfort. The relations between IEQ and comfort differed by personal characteristics (gender, age, and the Effort Reward Imbalance index), and building characteristics (office type and building's location). Workplace design should take into account both occupant and the building characteristics in order to provide healthier and more comfortable conditions to their occupants.
Road traffic noise in urban areas is a major source of annoyance. A quiet façade has been hypothesized to beneficially affect annoyance. However, only a limited number of studies investigated this ...hypothesis, and further quantification is needed. This study investigates the effect of a relatively quiet façade on the annoyance response. Logistic regression was performed in a large population based study (GLOBE, N~18,000), to study the association between road traffic noise exposure at the most exposed dwelling façade (L(den)) and annoyance in: (1) The subgroup with a relatively quiet façade (large difference in road traffic noise level between most and least exposed façade (Q>10 dB); (2) the subgroup without a relatively quiet façade (Q<10 dB). Questionnaire data were linked to individual exposure assessment based on detailed spatial data (GIS) and standard modeling techniques. Annoyance was less likely (OR(Q) (>10)<OR(Q) (<10)) in the subgroup with relatively quiet façade compared to the subgroup without relatively quiet façade. The difference in response between groups seemed to increase with increasing Q and L(den). Results indicate that residents may benefit from a quiet façade to the dwelling.
The effects of ambient air pollution on pregnancy outcomes are under debate. Previous studies have used different air pollution exposure assessment methods. The considerable traffic-related ...intra-urban spatial variation needs to be considered in exposure assessment. Residential proximity to traffic is a proxy for traffic-related exposures that takes into account within-city contrasts.
We investigated the association between residential proximity to traffic and various birth and pregnancy outcomes in 7,339 pregnant women and their children participating in a population-based cohort study. Residential proximity to traffic was defined as 1) distance-weighted traffic density in a 150 meter radius, and 2) proximity to a major road. We estimated associations of these exposures with birth weight, and with the risks of preterm birth and small size for gestational age at birth. Additionally, we examined associations with pregnancy-induced hypertension, (pre)eclampsia, and gestational diabetes.
There was considerable variation in distance-weighted traffic density. Almost fifteen percent of the participants lived within 50 m of a major road. Residential proximity to traffic was not associated with birth and pregnancy outcomes in the main analysis and in various sensitivity analyses.
Mothers exposed to residential traffic had no higher risk of adverse birth outcomes or pregnancy complications in this study. Future studies may be refined by taking both temporal and spatial variation in air pollution exposure into account.
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