Air pollution, ambient temperature, green space and preterm birth

The positive effects of Green Spaces on health are thought to be achieved through the mechanisms of mitigation, instoration and restoration. One of the benefits of Green Spaces may be the restoration of attention and so the objective of this research is testing empirically whether exposure to a green environment improves attention in school children. For so doing, we first used a split-unit statistical design in each of four schools, then combined the primary results via meta-analysis. The Attention Network Test (ANT) was used to measure attention before and after exposure and a total of 167 seven-year-old students participated in the experiments. Overall, our experimental results do not support the hypothesis that students’ exposure to activities in green vs. grey spaces affected their performance in ANT. This was so despite the fact that neither age nor gender biases have been detected and despite that our experiments have been proved to be sufficiently statistically powerful. It would be advisable to consider air pollution and noise. We also recommend that participants attend the experiment with mental exhaustion to maximize the ability to detect significant changes.

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Green space, air pollution, traffic noise and cardiometabolic health in adolescents: The PIAMA birth cohort

Environment International ◽

10.1016/j.envint.2019.104991 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 131 ◽

pp. 104991 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Lizan D. Bloemsma ◽

Ulrike Gehring ◽

Jochem O. Klompmaker ◽

Gerard Hoek ◽

Nicole A.H. Janssen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Birth Cohort ◽

Green Space ◽

Traffic Noise ◽

Cardiometabolic Health

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Association between Green Space Structure and the Prevalence of Asthma: A Case Study of Toronto

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18115852 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (11) ◽

pp. 5852

Author(s):

Yuping Dong ◽

Helin Liu ◽

Tianming Zheng

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Vegetation Index ◽

Green Space ◽

Normalized Difference Vegetation Index ◽

Chronic Inflammatory Disease ◽

Space Structure ◽

Tree Diversity ◽

Underlying Mechanisms ◽

Index Tree

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease that can be caused by various factors, such as asthma-related genes, lifestyle, and air pollution, and it can result in adverse impacts on asthmatics’ mental health and quality of life. Hence, asthma issues have been widely studied, mainly from demographic, socioeconomic, and genetic perspectives. Although it is becoming increasingly clear that asthma is likely influenced by green spaces, the underlying mechanisms are still unclear and inconsistent. Moreover, green space influences the prevalence of asthma concurrently in multiple ways, but most existing studies have explored only one pathway or a partial pathway, rather than the multi-pathways. Compared to greenness (measured by Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, tree density, etc.), green space structure—which has the potential to impact the concentration of air pollution and microbial diversity—is still less investigated in studies on the influence of green space on asthma. Given this research gap, this research took Toronto, Canada, as a case study to explore the two pathways between green space structure and the prevalence of asthma based on controlling the related covariates. Using regression analysis, it was found that green space structure can protect those aged 0–19 years from a high risk of developing asthma, and this direct protective effect can be enhanced by high tree diversity. For adults, green space structure does not influence the prevalence of asthma unless moderated by tree diversity (a measurement of the richness and diversity of trees). However, this impact was not found in adult females. Moreover, the hypothesis that green space structure influences the prevalence of asthma by reducing air pollution was not confirmed in this study, which can be attributed to a variety of causes.

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Relationship between preterm birth and air pollution in Santos, Sao Paulo, Brazil

European Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/eurpub/ckaa166.111 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽

Author(s):

M E L Brandao ◽

B A L F Braga ◽

M L C Martins ◽

P L A A Pereira

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Preterm Birth ◽

Air Pollutants ◽

First Trimester ◽

Sao Paulo ◽

São Paulo ◽

Air Humidity ◽

Relative Air Humidity ◽

The Impact ◽

Fourth Quartile

Abstract Santos is a seaboard Brazilian city recognized by its port activity where the road and rail infrastructure along with the large transportation operation, displays an important factor to contribute with all kinds of toxic and air pollutants. Recent studies have suggested associations between air pollution and various birth outcomes. Pollutant gases such as NOx, O3 and particulate matter PM2,5, PM10 have been cited as factors involved in such outcomes. The present study aims to assess the relationship between atmospheric pollutants and perinatal outcomes in the city of Santos from Jan. 2012 to Dec. 2015. Cross-sectional study that analyzed 10.319 singleton births in an area set with 2 km radius of the monitoring stations. Birth weight and information on mother and pregnancy were obtained at the Brazilian “Born Alive National Information System”. Daily records of air pollutants (PM10, PM2.5, NO2 and O3), temperature and relative air humidity, for the study period, were obtained from São Paulo State Environmental Agency (CETESB). Associations between preterm birth and air pollutants mean levels at each gestational trimester were investigated using multiple logistic regression model controlled by the variables: infant sex, type of delivery, maternal education. prenatal care, and number of previous live births, temperature and relative air humidity. NO2 e PM2,5 was not associated with preterm birth. O3 was significantly associated in the first trimester in the fourth quartile (OR = 1,47 CI 95% 1,05; 2,07). PM10 was significantly associated in the first trimester for the fourth quartile (OR = 1,28 CI 95% 1,00; 1,64), second trimester for the second quartile (OR = 1,37 CI 95% 1,07; 1,77). Conclusions the results shows evidence that maternal exposure to air pollution especially during the first trimester of pregnancy may contribute to preterm birth. Further actions are needed towards controlling air pollution are strongly recommended for promoting early-life health. Key messages This is the first research of this kind that was made in Santos. It brings important evidence of the impact in the life of the population, especially those whose is not even born yet. It can be used as a resource to guide public policies in health, especially the guidelines that dictate the concentration of air pollutants and air quality.

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Assessing Inequitable Urban Heat Islands and Air Pollution Disparities with Low-Cost Sensors in Richmond, Virginia

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su122310089 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (23) ◽

pp. 10089

Author(s):

Andre M. Eanes ◽

Todd R. Lookingbill ◽

Jeremy S. Hoffman ◽

Kelly C. Saverino ◽

Stephen S. Fong

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Low Income ◽

Green Space ◽

Low Cost ◽

Early Morning ◽

Urban Heat Islands ◽

Urban Heat ◽

Adverse Environmental Conditions ◽

East End ◽

The City

Air pollution and the urban heat island effect are consistently linked to numerous respiratory and heat-related illnesses. Additionally, these stressors disproportionately impact low-income and historically marginalized communities due to their proximity to emissions sources, lack of access to green space, and exposure to other adverse environmental conditions. Here, we use relatively low-cost stationary sensors to analyze PM2.5 and temperature data throughout the city of Richmond, Virginia, on the ten hottest days of 2019. For both hourly means within the ten hottest days of 2019 and daily means for the entire record for the year, the temperature was found to exhibit a positive correlation with PM2.5. Analysis of hourly means on the ten hottest days yielded a diurnal pattern in which PM2.5 levels peaked in the early morning and reached their minima in the mid-afternoon. Spatially, sites exhibiting higher temperatures consistently had higher PM2.5 readings, with vulnerable communities in the east end and more intensely developed parts of the city experiencing significantly higher temperatures and PM2.5 concentrations than the suburban neighborhoods in the west end. These findings suggest an uneven distribution of air pollution in Richmond during extreme heat events that are similar in pattern but less pronounced than the temperature differences during these events, although further investigation is required to verify the extent of this relationship. As other studies have found both of these environmental stressors to correlate with the distribution of green space and other land-use factors in cities, innovative and sustainable planning decisions are crucial to the mitigation of these issues of inequity going forward.

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