Summary In China, where air pollution has become a major threat to public health, public awareness of the detrimental effects of air pollution on respiratory health is increasing—particularly in ...relation to haze days. Air pollutant emission levels in China remain substantially higher than are those in developed countries. Moreover, industry, traffic, and household biomass combustion have become major sources of air pollutant emissions, with substantial spatial and temporal variations. In this Review, we focus on the major constituents of air pollutants and their impacts on chronic respiratory diseases. We highlight targets for interventions and recommendations for pollution reduction through industrial upgrading, vehicle and fuel renovation, improvements in public transportation, lowering of personal exposure, mitigation of the direct effects of air pollution through healthy city development, intervention at population-based level (systematic health education, intensive and individualised intervention, pre-emptive measures, and rehabilitation), and improvement in air quality. The implementation of a national environmental protection policy has become urgent.
Researchers must find the particles that are most dangerous to health in each place so policies can reduce levels of those pollutants first, urge Xiangdong Li and colleagues. Researchers must find ...the particles that are most dangerous to health in each place so policies can reduce levels of those pollutants first, urge Xiangdong Li and colleagues.
Indoor sources of air pollution worsen indoor and outdoor air quality. Thus, identifying and reducing indoor pollutant sources would decrease both indoor and outdoor air pollution, benefit public ...health, and help address the climate crisis. As outdoor sources come under regulatory control, unregulated indoor sources become a rising percentage of the problem. This American Thoracic Society workshop was convened in 2022 to evaluate this increasing proportion of indoor contributions to outdoor air quality. The workshop was conducted by physicians and scientists, including atmospheric and aerosol scientists, environmental engineers, toxicologists, epidemiologists, regulatory policy experts, and pediatric and adult pulmonologists. Presentations and discussion sessions were centered on
) the generation and migration of pollutants from indoors to outdoors,
) the sources and circumstances representing the greatest threat, and
) effective remedies to reduce the health burden of indoor sources of air pollution. The scope of the workshop was residential and commercial sources of indoor air pollution in the United States. Topics included wood burning, natural gas, cooking, evaporative volatile organic compounds, source apportionment, and regulatory policy. The workshop concluded that indoor sources of air pollution are significant contributors to outdoor air quality and that source control and filtration are the most effective measures to reduce indoor contributions to outdoor air. Interventions should prioritize environmental justice: Households of lower socioeconomic status have higher concentrations of indoor air pollutants from both indoor and outdoor sources. We identify research priorities, potential health benefits, and mitigation actions to consider (e.g., switching from natural gas to electric stoves and transitioning to scent-free consumer products). The workshop committee emphasizes the benefits of combustion-free homes and businesses and recommends economic, legislative, and education strategies aimed at achieving this goal.
Studies have reported that ambient air pollution is associated with an increased risk of developing or dying from coronavirus-2 (COVID-19). Methodological approaches to investigate the health impacts ...of air pollution on epidemics should differ from those used for chronic diseases, but the methods used in these studies have not been appraised critically.
Our study aimed to identify and critique the methodological approaches of studies of air pollution on infections and mortality due to COVID-19 and to identify and critique the methodological approaches of similar studies concerning severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
Published and unpublished papers of associations between air pollution and developing or dying from COVID-19 or SARS that were reported as of 10 May 2020 were identified through electronic databases, internet searches, and other sources.
All six COVID-19 studies and two of three SARS studies reported positive associations. Two were time series studies that estimated associations between daily changes in air pollution, one was a cohort that assessed associations between air pollution and the secondary spread of SARS, and six were ecological studies that used area-wide exposures and outcomes. Common shortcomings included possible cross-level bias in ecological studies, underreporting of health outcomes, using grouped data, the lack of highly spatially resolved air pollution measures, inadequate control for confounding and evaluation of effect modification, not accounting for regional variations in the timing of outbreaks' temporal changes in at-risk populations, and not accounting for nonindependence of outcomes.
Studies of air pollution and novel coronaviruses have relied mainly on ecological measures of exposures and outcomes and are susceptible to important sources of bias. Although longitudinal studies with individual-level data may be imperfect, they are needed to adequately address this topic. The complexities involved in these types of studies underscore the need for careful design and for peer review. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP7411.
Air pollution is inevitably the result of human civilization, industrialization, and globalization. It is composed of a mixture of gases and particles at harmful levels. Particulate matter (PM), ...nitrogen oxides (NOx), and carbon dioxides (CO
) are mainly generated from vehicle emissions and fuel consumption and are the main materials causing outdoor air pollution. Exposure to polluted outdoor air has been proven to be harmful to human eyes. On the other hand, indoor air pollution from environmental tobacco smoking, heating, cooking, or poor indoor ventilation is also related to several eye diseases, including conjunctivitis, glaucoma, cataracts, and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). In the past 30 years, no updated review has provided an overview of the impact of air pollution on the eye. We reviewed reports on air pollution and eye diseases in the last three decades in the PubMed database, Medline databases, and Google Scholar and discussed the effect of various outdoor and indoor pollutants on human eyes.
The health effects of air pollution remain a public concern worldwide. Using data from the Global Burden of Disease 2019 report, we statistically analyzed total mortality, disability-adjusted life ...years (DALY), and years of life lost (YLL) attributable to air pollution in eight East African countries between 1990 and 2019. We acquired ambient ozone (O
3
), PM
2.5
concentrations and household air pollution (HAP) from the solid fuel from the State of Global Air report. The multilinear regression model was used to evaluate the predictability of YLLs by the air pollutants. We estimated the ratio rate for each health burden attributable to air pollution to compare the country’s efforts in the reduction of air pollution health burden. This study found that the total number of deaths attributable to air pollution decreased by 14.26% for 30 years. The drop came from the reduction of 43.09% in mortality related to Lower Respiratory tract Infection (LRI). However, only five out of eight countries managed to decrease the total number of deaths attributable to air pollution with the highest decrease observed in Ethiopia (40.90%) and the highest increase in Somalia (67.49%). The linear regression model showed that HAP is the pollutant of the most concern in the region, with a 1% increase in HAP resulting in a 31.06% increase in regional YLL (
R
2
= 0.93;
p
< 0.05). With the increasing ground-level ozone, accompanied by the lack of adequate measures to reduce particulate pollutants, the health burdens attributable to air pollution are still a threat in the region.
PURPOSE OF REVIEWThe review describes current status of air pollution in India, summarizes recent research on adverse health effects of ambient and household air pollution, and outlines the ongoing ...efforts and future actions required to improve air quality and reduce morbidity and mortality because of air pollution in India.
RECENT FINDINGSGlobal burden of disease data analysis reveals more than one million premature deaths attributable to ambient air pollution in 2015 in India. More than one million additional deaths can be attributed to household air pollution. Particulate matter with diameter 2.5 μm or less has been causatively linked with most premature deaths. Acute respiratory tract infections, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, exacerbations of preexisting obstructive airway disease and lung cancer are proven adverse respiratory effects of air pollution. Targeting air quality standards laid by WHO can significantly reduce morbidity and mortality because of air pollution in India.
SUMMARYIndia is currently exposed to high levels of ambient and household air pollutants. Respiratory adverse effects of air pollution are significant contributors to morbidity and premature mortality in India. Substantial efforts are being made at legislative, administrative, and community levels to improve air quality. However, much more needs to be done to change the ‘status quo’ and attain the target air quality standards.
VIDEO ABSTRACThttp://links.lww.com/COPM/A24.
BACKGROUND:While strong evidence exists for associations between fine particles (PM2.5) and health, less is known about whether associations differ by sex.
METHODS:We used Bayesian hierarchical ...modeling to estimate associations between PM2.5, based on ambient monitors, and risk of cause-specific cardiovascular and respiratory hospitalizations for about 12.6 million Medicare beneficiaries (>65 years) residing in 213 US counties for 1999–2010.
RESULTS:Point estimates were higher for women than men for almost all causes of hospitalization. PM2.5 risks were higher for women than men for respiratory tract infection, cardiovascular, and heart rhythm disturbance admissions. A 10 μg/m increase in same-day PM2.5 was associated with a 1.13% increased risk of heart rhythm disturbance admissions for women (95% posterior interval PI0.63%, 1.63%), and 0.03% for men (95% PI-0.48%, 0.55%). Differences remained after stratification by age and season.
CONCLUSIONS:Women may be more susceptible to PM2.5-related hospitalizations for some respiratory and cardiovascular causes.
Air Pollution Forecasts: An Overview Bai, Lu; Wang, Jianzhou; Ma, Xuejiao ...
International journal of environmental research and public health,
04/2018, Letnik:
15, Številka:
4
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Air pollution is defined as a phenomenon harmful to the ecological system and the normal conditions of human existence and development when some substances in the atmosphere exceed a certain ...concentration. In the face of increasingly serious environmental pollution problems, scholars have conducted a significant quantity of related research, and in those studies, the forecasting of air pollution has been of paramount importance. As a precaution, the air pollution forecast is the basis for taking effective pollution control measures, and accurate forecasting of air pollution has become an important task. Extensive research indicates that the methods of air pollution forecasting can be broadly divided into three classical categories: statistical forecasting methods, artificial intelligence methods, and numerical forecasting methods. More recently, some hybrid models have been proposed, which can improve the forecast accuracy. To provide a clear perspective on air pollution forecasting, this study reviews the theory and application of those forecasting models. In addition, based on a comparison of different forecasting methods, the advantages and disadvantages of some methods of forecasting are also provided. This study aims to provide an overview of air pollution forecasting methods for easy access and reference by researchers, which will be helpful in further studies.
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