Individual exposure level following indoor and outdoor air pollution exposure in Dakar (Senegal)

ObjectivesOutdoor air pollution is a serious environmental problem worldwide. Current systematic reviews (SRs) and meta-analyses (MAs) mostly focused on some specific health outcomes or some specific air pollution.DesignThis evidence gap map (EGM) is to identify existing gaps from SRs and MAs and report them in broad topic areas.Data sourcesPubMed, Cochrane, Scopus and Web of Science were searched from their inception until June 2018. Citations and reference lists were traced.Eligibility criteriaSRs and MAs that investigated the impact of outdoor air pollution on human health outcomes were collected. This study excluded original articles and qualitative review articles.Data extraction and synthesisCharacteristics of the included SRs and MAs were extracted and summarised. Extracted data included authors, publication year, location of the corresponding author(s), publication journal discipline, study design, study duration, sample size, study region, target population, types of air pollution and health outcomes.ResultsAsia and North America published 93% of SRs and MAs included in this EGM. 31% of the SRs and MAs (27/86) included primary studies conducted in 5–10 countries. Their publication trends have increased during the last 10 years. A total of 2864 primary studies was included. The median number of included primary studies was 20 (range, 7–167). Cohort studies, case cross-over studies and time-series studies were the top three most used study designs. The mostly researched population was the group of all ages (46/86, 53%). Cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases and health service records were mostly reported. A lack of definite diagnostic criteria, unclear reporting of air pollution exposure and time period of primary studies were the main research gaps.ConclusionsThis EGM provided a visual overview of health outcomes affected by outdoor air pollution exposure. Future research should focus on chronic diseases, cancer and mental disorders.

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Human exposure to outdoor air pollution (IUPAC Technical Report)

Pure and Applied Chemistry ◽

10.1351/pac200173060933 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 73 (6) ◽

pp. 933-958 ◽

Cited By ~ 45

Author(s):

Ole Hertel ◽

Frank A. A. M. De Leeuw ◽

Steen Solvang Jensen ◽

David Gee ◽

Olf Herbarth ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Health Effects ◽

Human Exposure ◽

Outdoor Air ◽

Outdoor Air Pollution ◽

Advantages And Disadvantages ◽

Air Pollution Exposure ◽

Categorical Classification ◽

Pollution Exposure

_Human exposure to outdoor air pollution is believed to cause severe health effects, especially in urban areas where pollution levels often are high, because of the poor dispersion conditions and high density of pollution sources. Many factors influence human health, and a good assessment of human air pollution exposure is, therefore, crucial for a proper determination of possible links between air pollution and health effects. Assessment of human exposure is, however, not straightforward, and this is the background for the present paper, which recommends how to carry out such assessments. Assessment of human exposure to air pollution may be carried out by use of:categorical classification, application of biomarkers, analysis of air pollution data from routine monitoring networks, personal portable exposure monitors, or application of mathematical air pollution exposure models. The categorical classification is a crude indirect method based on indicators of exposure such as type of residence, type of job, presence of indoor sources, etc. Categorical classification is generally inadequate for application in air pollution epidemiology. Biomarkers can be a strong instrument in assessment of health effects and provide information about air pollution exposure and dose. Use of biomarkers is, therefore, particularly useful when applied in combination with exposure assessment through one of the methods 3 to 5. The main focus of this paper is on these three methods for determination of human air pollution exposure. The optimal solution is clearly a combination of methods 2 to 5, but the available resources often set a limit to how far the assessment is carried out, and the choice of strategy will, therefore, often be very important for the outcome of the final study. This paper describes how these approaches may be applied and outlines advantages and disadvantages of the approaches used individually and in combination. Furthermore, some examples of specific applications in Denmark and the Netherlands are given for illustration.

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