Synergistic Effects of Ambient Temperature and Air Pollution on Health in Europe: Results from the PHASE Project

We studied the potential synergy between air pollution and meteorology and their impact on mortality in nine European cities with data from 2004 to 2010. We used daily series of Apparent Temperature (AT), measurements of particulate matter (PM10), ozone (O3), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and total non-accidental, cardiovascular, and respiratory deaths. We applied Poisson regression for city-specific analysis and random effects meta-analysis to combine city-specific results, separately for the warm and cold seasons. In the warm season, the percentage increase in all deaths from natural causes per °C increase in AT tended to be greater during high ozone days, although this was only significant for all ages when all causes were considered. On low ozone days, the increase in the total daily number of deaths was 1.84% (95% CI 0.87, 2.82), whilst it was 2.20% (95% CI 1.28, 3.13) in the high ozone days per 1 °C increase in AT. Interaction with PM10 was significant for cardiovascular (CVD) causes of death for all ages (2.24% on low PM10 days (95% CI 1.01, 3.47) whilst it is 2.63% (95% CI 1.57, 3.71) on high PM10 days) and for ages 75+. In days with heat waves, no consistent pattern of interaction was observed. For the cold period, no evidence for synergy was found. In conclusion, some evidence of interactive effects between hot temperature and the levels of ozone and PM10 was found, but no consistent synergy could be identified during the cold season.

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Biological, Ecological, and Distributional Aspects of Two Native Species of Lucilia Genus (Diptera: Calliphoridae) of Forensic Interest in Yungas Environments of Argentina

Journal of Medical Entomology ◽

10.1093/jme/tjaa126 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 57 (6) ◽

pp. 1700-1711

Author(s):

X Acosta ◽

A X González-Reyes ◽

N D Centeno ◽

J A Corronca

Keyword(s):

Native Species ◽

Temporal Dynamics ◽

Synergistic Effects ◽

Habitat Preferences ◽

Warm Season ◽

Sun Exposure ◽

Late Summer ◽

Cold Season ◽

Tree Cover ◽

Native Habitats

Abstract This study determined the spatial and temporal dynamics of two native neotropical species flies of forensic interest, belonging to the Lucilia (Robineau-Desvoidy) genus. The study focused on their abundance and reproductive behaviors associated with different habitats and phenological parameters. In the Province of Salta, Argentina, monthly samplings were performed over 1 yr in urban, rural, and native habitats, at morning, mid-day, and afternoon periods, controlling the oviposition of captured specimens. Environmental variables were also assessed: cloudiness, precipitation, relative humidity, temperature, and tree cover. Lucilia purpurascens (Walker) appeared to be associated with native habitats, whereas Lucilia ochricornis (Wiedemann) was mainly associated with rural habitats, exhibiting distinct habitat preferences. Two ecotones were also identified: rural–urban and rural–native, suggesting rural habitats promoted habitable conditions at its margins. Both species were recorded at the end of winter to the middle of autumn, with an initial peak in early spring, and a second peak at late summer. These peaks were associated with the highest numbers of laid eggs. Lucilia purpurascens preferred high tree coverings, whereas L. ochricornis resisted areas with intermediate sun, suggesting limited sun exposure was important. The latter was also associated with daily flight activities; during the warm season, the densest catches occurred at morning and afternoon periods, whereas during the cold season, they occurred at mid-day. Climatic variables explained 77% of variability in terms of abundance and oviposition. Synergistic effects were observed between these variables, suggesting that these variables conditioned insect distribution and reproduction, and not just temperature per se.

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Short-Term Effects of Heat on Mortality and Effect Modification by Air Pollution in 25 Italian Cities

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph15081771 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 15 (8) ◽

pp. 1771 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Matteo Scortichini ◽

Manuela De Sario ◽

Francesca de’Donato ◽

Marina Davoli ◽

Paola Michelozzi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Heat Waves ◽

Synergistic Effects ◽

Geographical Area ◽

Central Italy ◽

Potential Effect ◽

Effect Modification ◽

The South ◽

Mediterranean Countries ◽

Heat Effects

Evidence on the health effects of extreme temperatures and air pollution is copious. However few studies focused on their interaction. The aim of this study is to evaluate daily PM10 and ozone as potential effect modifiers of the relationship between temperature and natural mortality in 25 Italian cities. Time-series analysis was run for each city. To evaluate interaction, a tensor product between mean air temperature (lag 0–3) and either PM10 or ozone (both lag 0–5) was defined and temperature estimates were extrapolated at low, medium, and high levels of pollutants. Heat effects were estimated as percent change in mortality for increases in temperature between 75th and 99th percentiles. Results were pooled by geographical area. Differential temperature-mortality risks by air pollutants were found. For PM10, estimates ranged from 3.9% (low PM10) to 14.1% (high PM10) in the North, from 3.6% to 24.4% in the Center, and from 7.5% to 21.6% in the South. Temperature-related mortality was similarly modified by ozone in northern and central Italy, while no effect modification was observed in the South. This study underlines the synergistic effects of heat and air pollution on mortality. Considering the predicted increase in heat waves and stagnation events in the Mediterranean countries such as Italy, it is time to enclose air pollution within public health heat prevention plans.

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Association Between Ambient Air Pollution And Daily Hospital Visits For Cardiovascular Diseases In Wuhan, China: A Time-Series Analysis Based On Medical Insurance Data.

10.21203/rs.3.rs-685384/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Yongna Meng ◽

Zhihui Liu ◽

Jiayuan Hao ◽

Fengxi Tao ◽

Huihui Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Heart Disease ◽

Meteorological Data ◽

Additive Model ◽

Warm Season ◽

Ambient Air ◽

Cold Season ◽

Ambient Air Pollution ◽

Relative Risks ◽

Hospital Visits

Abstract Although a large number of studies have proved the adverse effects of exposure to air pollution on cardiovascular disease, few studies have done such research focusing on the medically insured population, a group of relatively healthier people representing the working population. We used generalized additive model (GAM) to estimate the short-term effects of ambient air pollution on CVDs in Wuhan, China. We extracted daily air pollution data, meteorological data, and daily hospital visits for CVDs (including hypertension, coronary heart disease [CHD], and heart disease [HD]) from November 1st, 2013 to October 31st, 2018. For each increase of 10 μg/m3 in SO2, NO2, PM10, and PM2.5, the relative risks (RRs) of daily hospital visits for hypertension increased by 3.8% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.8%, 5.9%), 2.5% (95% CI: 1.9%, 3.2%), 0.5% (95% CI: 0.2%, 0.7%), and 0.7% (95% CI: 0.3%, 1.1%) at lag 0, respectively; For CHD, the RRs increased by 3.6% (95% CI: 1.8%, 5.5%), 2.6% (95% CI: 1.9%, 3.4%), 0.4% (95% CI: 0.1%, 0.7%), and 0.5% (95% CI: 0.1%, 0.9%) at lag 0, respectively; For HD, the RRs increased by 3.6% (95%CI: 1.4%, 5.8%), 2.1% (95%CI: 1.4%, 2.7%), 0.3% (95%CI: 0.1%, 0.6%), and 0.4% (95%CI: 0, 0.8%) at lag 0, respectively. We found that the influence of air pollution on daily hospital visits for CVDs is greater in the cold season than in the warm season. The results indicate that NO2 and SO2 may be potential confounders for co-pollutants in the multi-pollutant model. In conclusion, air pollutants including SO2, NO2, PM10, and PM2.5 may be associated with the risk of hypertension, CHD, and HD. Our findings not only can be used as reference for studying the financing and the allocation of medical resources in the future, but also served as a piece of evidence that supports the policymaking on air pollution and CVDs.

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Outdoor and Indoor Air Pollution in China

Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1177/101053958700100412 ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 1 (4) ◽

pp. 46-50 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

S Niu PhD

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Indoor Air ◽

Indoor Air Pollution ◽

Warm Season ◽

Chronic Respiratory Disease ◽

Cold Season ◽

Pollution Levels ◽

Direct Combustion ◽

Urban And Rural Residents ◽

Standards And Regulations

Outdoor and Indoor air pollution in China is mainly due to direct combustion of coal for domestic heating and cooking purposes. In general, air pollution levels are more severe in the northern parts of the country, during the cold season and cooking hours than in the southern parts, during the warm season and non-cooking hours. The direct impact of air pollution on human health is increasing incidents of chronic respiratory disease in urban and rural residents, and even increased cases of lung cancer in nonsmoking women. With the purpose of controlling air pollution and improving environmental health, a series of laws, standards and regulations have been adopted over the last few years.

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Investigating the Independent and Synergistic Effects of Heat Waves and Air Pollution on Health: The EuroHEAT Project

Epidemiology ◽

10.1097/01.ede.0000291884.54843.1b ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 19 (1) ◽

pp. S214-S215

Author(s):

A Analitis ◽

K Katsouyanni ◽

X Pedeli ◽

U Kirchmayer ◽

P Michelozzi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Heat Waves ◽

Synergistic Effects

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Association between air pollution and case-specific mortality in north-eastern part of Poland. Case crossover study with 4,500,000 person-years of follow-up

European Heart Journal ◽

10.1093/eurheartj/ehab724.2655 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 42 (Supplement_1) ◽

Author(s):

L Kuzma ◽

A Kurasz ◽

E J Dabrowski ◽

M Swieczkowski ◽

S Dobrzycki ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Warm Season ◽

Cold Season ◽

Funding Sources ◽

Case Crossover ◽

North Eastern ◽

The Impact ◽

Related Mortality ◽

Cvd Mortality

Abstract Background Recent studies have reported associations between air pollution and daily mortality. The majority of them are conducted in highly polluted areas. Taking into consideration the scarce number of surveys from cities with moderate air quality we decided to conduct a study in this type of region. Purpose To assess the short-term impact of air pollution on cardiovascular (CVD), coronary artery-related (CAD), and cerebrovascular-related (CbVD) mortality. Methods The analysis with almost 4,500,000 person-years of follow-up with a time-stratified case-crossover design was performed. Results are reported as odds ratio (OR) associated with an increase in interquartile range (IQR). Results The analysed region was inhabited by almost 500,000 residents. From 2008 to 2017 in Bialystok, Lomza, and Suwalki we recorded 49,573 deaths – 34,005, 8,082, 7,486, respectively. The median daily concentrations of PM10 (23.8 μg/m3, IQR=16.9) was the highest in Lomza, Median daily concentration of PM2.5 was the highest in Bialystok (16.2 μg/m3, IQR=15.9). In the case of Suwalki, daily median PM2.5 concentration was 9.8 μg/m3 (IQR=8.7), and PM10 – 18.0 μg/m3 (IQR=14.3). The IQR increase in PM2.5 (OR 1.036, 95% CI 1.016–1.056, P<0.001) and PM10 concentration (OR 1.034, 95% CI 1.015–1.053, P<0.001) was associated with increased CVD mortality on lag 0 and this effect persisted on following days. The effects of PMs were more expressed in association with CAD-related mortality (OR for PM2.5 = 1.045, 95% CI 1.012–1.080, P=0.008), (OR for PM10 = 1.044, 95% CI 1.010–1.078, P=0.011) and CbVD mortality (OR for PM2.5 = 1.046, 95% CI 1.013–1.080, P=0.006), (OR=1.041 for PM10, 95% CI 1.002–1.082, P=0.038). Additionally, IQR increase in NO2 concentration was associated with increased CAD-related mortality at lag 0–1 (OR=1.055, 95% CI 1.004–1.108, P=0.032). The highest OR for PMs was noted in Suwalki compared to Bialystok and Lomza. The trend was noted regardless of the cause of death from lag 0 to lag 0–3. In a comparison of seasons, we noted higher CVD mortality OR in the cold season for PM10 in Suwalki (P=0.047) and Bialystok (p=0.001). However, the impact of NO2 (P=0.02) and PM10 (P=0.03) on CAD related mortality was higher in the warm season. Conclusions The impact of air pollution on CVD mortality is also observed in moderately polluted areas. PMs and NO2 had the greatest impact on CAD-related mortality. Differences in effect size and seasonality may depend on the source of air pollution. FUNDunding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: None.

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Exposure to traffic-related air pollution and acute bronchitis in children: season and age as modifiers

Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health ◽

10.1136/jech-2017-209948 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 72 (5) ◽

pp. 426-433 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Lijun Bai ◽

Xi Su ◽

Desheng Zhao ◽

Yanwu Zhang ◽

Qiang Cheng ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Meteorological Factors ◽

Warm Season ◽

Cumulative Effect ◽

Acute Bronchitis ◽

Cold Season ◽

School Age Children ◽

Distributed Lag ◽

Relative Risks ◽

Hospital Visits

BackgroundAcute bronchitis (AB) is one of the principal causes of childhood morbidity. Increasing number of studies has shown that air pollution is an important environmental contributor of respiratory disease. However, evidence so far is scarce regarding the effects of air pollution on childhood AB, and it also remains unclear how the risk of AB will change by season and age.MethodsData on hospital visits for AB in children, air pollution and meteorological factors from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2016 were collected in Hefei, China. Time-series analysis was applied to assess the short-term effects of traffic-related air pollution on childhood AB outpatient visits. A Poisson generalised linear regression model combined with a distributed lag non-linear model was used to estimate the relationships, controlling for long-term trends, seasonal patterns, meteorological factors and other possible confounders.ResultsWe found that an IQR increase in concentrations of nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter <2.5 µm and carbon monoxide significantly increased the daily hospital visits for childhood AB with 4-day cumulative effect estimates (relative risks: 1.03, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.05; 1.09, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.11; 1.07, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.09). Notably, the risk estimates during the cold season are pronounced; however, no significant association was observed during the warm season. Interestingly, children aged 6–14 years were more vulnerable to air pollutants than children aged less than 1 year and within 1–5 years. However, no gender difference was observed.ConclusionA significant association of traffic-related air pollution and increased department visits for childhood AB was observed, notably in school-age children and during the cold season.

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Maternal air pollution exposure increases the risk of preterm birth: Evidence from the meta-analysis of cohort studies

Environmental Research ◽

10.1016/j.envres.2021.111654 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 111654

Author(s):

Liangliang Ju ◽

Changlian Li ◽

Mei Yang ◽

Shu Sun ◽

Qi Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Preterm Birth ◽

Cohort Studies ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Air Pollution Exposure ◽

Pollution Exposure

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Is Brief Exposure to Green Space in School the Best Option to Improve Attention in Children?

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18147484 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (14) ◽

pp. 7484

Author(s):

Asier Anabitarte ◽

Gonzalo García-Baquero ◽

Ainara Andiarena ◽

Nerea Lertxundi ◽

Nerea Urbieta ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

School Children ◽

Green Space ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Statistical Design ◽

Green Spaces ◽

Attention Network Test ◽

Positive Effects ◽

Gender Biases ◽

Before And After

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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