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Rationale
Studies examining the association of short-term air pollution exposure and daily deaths have typically been limited to cities and used citywide average exposures, with few using causal models.
Objectives
To estimate the associations between short-term exposures to fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ), ozone (O 3 ), and nitrogen dioxide (NO...
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Citations
... Previous studies of the acute effects of NO 2 or PM 2.5 on cause-specific mortality have assessed metropolitan areas of the same country (Linares et al., 2018;Chen et al., 2019), multiple cities across the world Meng et al., 2021), or single geographic regions Liu et al., 2021;Liu et al., 2022;Gariazzo et al., 2023). This focus might stem from a lack of air quality data in rural settings or sparse daily cause-specific mortality data with fine spatial resolution. ...
... Higher risk estimates among older people have been reported previously (Liu et al., 2022;Gariazzo et al., 2023), which we confirmed in our study. These results reflect both the higher mortality rate and the increased susceptibility to short-term air pollution exposure among older people, probably due to reduced compensatory processes and a higher prevalence of comorbidities in the older population (Shumake et al., 2013). ...
... Notably, 20% of these deaths are due to air pollution from road traffic (1,2). The number of deaths caused by air pollutants, particularly particulate matter (PM 2.5 ), exceeds 4.2 million per year and accounts for 7.6% of global deaths (3). Traffic air pollution is a pressing global problem, especially in LMICs (1) and exposure to ambient PM is a major public health concern (4). ...
... Six criteria pollutants, namely particulate matter (PM), carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), lead, and ozone (O 3 ), have been identified as major public health concerns (6). Road traffic contributes significantly to air pollution and is responsible for 7.7%, 10%, and 28% of PM 10 , PM 2.5 , and NO x emissions, respectively (12). ...
Introduction
The traffic air pollution caused by transportation is a growing global problem that contributes to millions of deaths each year. Despite its importance, information on pollutant concentration is limited in many developing cities, especially in Ethiopia. This study aimed to determine the concentration levels and spatial and temporal variations of traffic air pollutants in Hawassa and to investigate the influence of metrological parameters on the concentration of traffic air pollutants.
Methods
A real-time monitoring system of Aero-Qual Series 300/500 was used to monitor pollutants, and 24 monitoring sites were included on both heavy and low-traffic volume roads. The study monitored morning and afternoon times over 24 days to comprehensively characterize the temporal variations.
Results
The results showed that the mean PM2.5 concentration on heavy- and low-traffic volume roads was 161.6 ± 26.1 μg/m³ and 95 ± 14.2 μg/m³, respectively, whereas the PM10 concentration was 178.7 ± 20.3 μg/ m³ and 102.3 ± 17.6 μg/m³, respectively. Similarly, the mean NO2 concentrations on roads with heavy and low traffic volumes were 86.4 ± 14.4 μg/m³ and 61.7 ± 14.2 μg/m³, respectively. Significantly higher, concentrations were recorded on traffic light roads, followed by main asphalt roads, for both types of traffic air pollutants. The ratio of PM2.5/PM10 was higher (0.924), in which the pollution sources attributed to anthropogenic sources. Kendall’s tau-b correlation analysis suggested that Meteorological parameters (temperature and relative humidity) were positively correlated with traffic air pollutants. Likewise, stepwise multiple linear regression analysis confirms that the concentrations of traffic air pollutants had a positive relationship with metrological parameters.
Implications
The findings of this study therefore showed the need for regular air quality monitoring of the urban areas to copping out the adverse public health impacts. And, it highlighted an urgent need for long-term monitoring of traffic air pollution and the development of emission control programs that can be readily implemented to decrease the emissions from anthropogenic sources. Also, it brings a sense of collaboration among stakeholders to tackle the effects of air pollution by providing an inclusive and sustainable development agenda for Hawassa.
... Notably, 20% of these deaths are due to air pollution from road traffic (1,2). The number of deaths caused by air pollutants, particularly particulate matter (PM 2.5 ), exceeds 4.2 million per year and accounts for 7.6% of global deaths (3). Traffic air pollution is a pressing global problem, especially in LMICs (1) and exposure to ambient PM is a major public health concern (4). ...
... Six criteria pollutants, namely particulate matter (PM), carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), lead, and ozone (O 3 ), have been identified as major public health concerns (6). Road traffic contributes significantly to air pollution and is responsible for 7.7%, 10%, and 28% of PM 10 , PM 2.5 , and NO x emissions, respectively (12). ...
Introduction: The traffic air pollution caused by transportation is a growing global problem that contributes to millions of deaths each year. Despite its importance, information on pollutant concentration is limited in many developing cities, especially
in Ethiopia. This study aimed to determine the concentration levels and spatial and temporal variations of traffic air pollutants in Hawassa and to investigate the influence of metrological parameters on the concentration of traffic air pollutants.
Methods: A real-time monitoring system of Aero-Qual Series 300/500 was used to monitor pollutants, and 24 monitoring sites were included on both heavy and low-traffic volume roads. The study monitored morning and afternoon times over 24 days to comprehensively characterize the temporal variations.
Results: The results showed that the mean PM2.5 concentration on heavy, and low-traffic volume roads was 161.6 ± 26.1 μg/m3
and 95 ± 14.2 μg/m3, respectively, whereas the PM10 concentration was 178.7 ± 20.3 μg/ m3 and 102.3
± 17.6 μg/m3, respectively. Similarly, the mean NO2 concentrations on roads with heavy and low traffic volumes were 86.4 ± 14.4 μg/m3 and 61.7 ± 14.2 μg/m3, respectively. Significantly higher, concentrations were recorded on traffic light
roads, followed by main asphalt roads, for both types of traffic air pollutants. The ratio of PM2.5/PM10 was higher (0.924), in which the pollution sources attributed to anthropogenic sources. Kendall’s tau-b correlation analysis suggested that Meteorological parameters (temperature and relative humidity) were positively
correlated with traffic air pollutants. Likewise, stepwise multiple linear regression analysis confirms that the concentrations of traffic air pollutants had a positive relationship with metrological parameters. Implications: The findings of this study therefore showed the need for regular air quality monitoring of the urban areas to copping out the adverse public health impacts. And, it highlighted an urgent need for long-term monitoring of traffic air
pollution and the development of emission control programs that can be readily implemented to decrease the emissions from anthropogenic sources. Also, it brings a sense of collaboration among stakeholders to tackle the effects of air pollution by
providing an inclusive and sustainable development agenda for Hawassa.
... Nitrogen oxides (NO X ), which is a family of highly reactive gaseous nitrogen species emitted during fuel combustion, consist of NO 2 and NO, with NO 2 known to be more environmentally hazardous (Singh & Agrawal, 2008;Tyler Miller & Hackett, 2011;Kuprov et al., 2014;Jhun et al., 2015;Zhang et al., 2023). Human expose to NO X has been associated with numerous health effects, including increased total-, cardiovascular and respiratory mortality (Anenberg et al., 2017;Liu et al., 2022;Meng et al., 2021;Shang et al., 2013;Wang et al., 2021), various mild and more severe respiratory outcomes (Jiang et al., 2019;Kowalska et al., 2020), visits to emergency rooms in response to severe asthma attacks (US EPA, 2016) and to neurology clinics , and hospitalization as a result of respiratory diseases (Xu et al., 2022;Zheng et al., 2021). Exposure to NOx was found to result in higher risk for children and people with preexisting cardiovascular disease (Eckel et al., 2016). ...
This work examines the impact of the electrification of the Holon-Bat Yam passenger train line (central Israel) on air pollutant concentrations using data collected from air quality monitoring stations that operated at the train stations across the electrified train line. We present statistically significant reduction in the annual average NO2, NO and NOX concentrations (29–45%, 79–85% and 65–75%, respectively), attributed to the electrification of the passenger train line. The drop in the NO and NOX concentrations was much stronger than in the NO2 concentrations, since NO is the main nitrogen species emitted by diesel locomotives. PM2.5 concentrations also significantly decreased, but only in two (out of the three) train stations situated along the electrified line. Following various analyses, we conclude that electrification of train lines reduces train locomotive emissions and improves the air quality at the stations, as expected, thus protecting the passengers and reducing their exposure to air pollutants. Although this study presents a specific case, the findings are expected to be applicable, at least quantitatively, to other locations, as railway electrification removes emissions associated with fossil-fuel-powered locomotives. This work supports railway electrification policy, which has the potential to substantially lower air pollution levels and diminish the passengers’ exposure to harmful air pollutants.
... Numerous epidemiological studies indicating the shortterm effects of ambient air pollution on human morbidity and mortality have been well reported in many parts of the world (Belch et al. 2021;Chen et al. 2021;Gariazzo et al. 2023;Liu et al. 2022;López-Villarrubia et al. 2010;Orellano et al. 2020;Requia et al. 2024), including those conducted in Thailand (Phosri et al. 2020;Taneepanichskul et al. 2018; Thongphunchung et al. 2021;Varapongpisan et al. 2022). More recently, there is an increasing interest in examining the short-term association of air pollution with morbidity and mortality as a multi-province study, and the heterogeneity of the effect estimates among provinces has been significantly observed (Guo et al. 2014;Taneepanichskul et al. 2018; Thongphunchung et al. 2021). ...
... Among the province-level variables, the proportion of females seems to explain the heterogeneity the most in the association between NO 2 and mortality. The positive association between air pollution and nonaccidental mortality observed in this study is in agreement with that of many previous studies (Chen et al. 2021;Guo et al. 2014;Liu et al. 2022;Orellano et al. 2020;Requia et al. 2024;Taneepanichskul et al. 2018). However, the magnitude of the effect estimate is different among studies. ...
Background
The association between ambient air pollution and mortality has been well documented in many parts of the world, including Thailand. However, the association’s heterogeneity and its underlying variables remains uncertain. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the short-term effect of ambient air pollution, including particulate matter with 10 (PM10) and 2.5 (PM2.5) microns or less in aerodynamic diameter, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and ozone (O3), on non-accidental mortality. Additionally, we aim to examine whether province-level variables explain the heterogeneity in this association.
Method
The two-stage modeling approach was utilized to investigate the association between air pollution and mortality in this study. In the first stage, the quasi-Poisson generalized linear model combined with the distributed lag non-linear model was employed to explore the province-specific association between air pollution and mortality. In the second stage, the province-specific estimates were pooled to derive the national estimate and the underlying factors contributed to the heterogeneity were also examined using the mixed-effects meta-regression model.
Results
Results indicated that the nationwide relative risk (RR) of non-accidental mortality associated with each 10-µg/m³ increase of PM10 (lag 0-2) and PM2.5 (lag 0-2), and each 10-ppb increase of NO2 (lag 0-2) and O3 (lag 0-7) was 1.0118 (95% CI: 1.0081, 1.0155), 1.0216 (95% CI: 1.0132, 1.0301), 1.0367 (95% CI: 1.0217, 1.0520), and 1.0146 (95% CI: 1.0050, 1.0243), respectively. The RR of mortality associated with PM10, PM2.5, and O3 was greater, while that associated with NO2 was less for warmer provinces. The RR associated with PM2.5 and O3 was larger, while that associated with NO2 was lower for provinces with higher unemployment rate. The estimated effect of NO2 was also lower for the provinces with higher proportion of educational attainment and higher family income.
Conclusions
Findings from this study provides more insight into the effect modifier of air pollution – mortality association.
... 07 PM 2.5 has been reported to cause over 4 million deaths yearly, which represents about 7.6% of all deaths from all causes (Cohen et al., 2017). Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that short-term exposure to particulate air pollutants is accompanied by increased risks for all causes of mortality, in addition to risk from asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (Liu et al., 2022;Liu et al., 2019;Li et al., 2017;Gouveia et al., 2024;Yu et al., 2024). It has also been reported that short-term exposure to particulate matter is associated with elevated risks of respiratory symptoms, respiratory disease exacerbation, emergency department visits, and hospital admission (Yu et al., 2024;Fajersztajn et al., 2017). ...
... A recent study conducted on the total populations of seven US states with more than a million mortalities revealed that short-term exposure to particulate air pollution is independently linked with elevated risk to all-cause mortality; importantly, it was also shown that the impacts of air pollution were persevered even at low PM 2.5 concentrations (Liu et al., 2022). Hence, along with reevaluation of the existing daily standards of PM 2.5 levels, it is important to adopt additional interventions to reduce the pathophysiological effects of air pollution, including the use of safe phytochemicals with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties (Miller and Newby, 2020;Guo et al., 2024). ...
Introduction
Exposure to particulate matter ≤2.5 μm in diameter (PM2.5) is associated with adverse respiratory outcomes, including alterations to lung morphology and function. These associations were reported even at concentrations lower than the current annual limit of PM2.5. Inhalation of PM2.5, of which diesel exhaust particles (DEPs) is a major component, induces lung inflammation and oxidative stress. α-Bisabolol (BIS) is a bioactive dietary phytochemical with various pharmacological properties, including anti-inflammatory and antioxidant actions. Here, we evaluated the possible protective effects of BIS on DEP-induced lung injury.
Methods
Mice were exposed to DEPs (20 µg/mouse) or saline (control) by intratracheal instillation. BIS was administered orally at two doses (25 and 50 mg/kg) approximately 1 h before DEP exposure. Twenty-four hours after DEP administration, multiple respiratory endpoints were evaluated.
Results
BIS administration was observed to prevent DEP-induced airway hyperreactivity to methacholine; influx of macrophages, neutrophils, and lymphocytes in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid; and increases in epithelial and endothelial permeabilities. DEP exposure caused increases in the levels of myeloperoxidase, proinflammatory cytokines, and oxidative stress markers in lung tissue homogenates, and all these effects were abated by BIS treatment. The activities of mitochondrial complexes I, II, III, and IV were markedly increased in the lungs of mice exposed to DEPs, and these effects were significantly reduced in the BIS-treated group. Intratracheal instillation of DEPs induced DNA damage and increase in the apoptotic marker cleaved caspase-3. The latter effects were prevented in mice treated with BIS and exposed to DEPs. Moreover, BIS mitigated DEP-induced increase in the expression of phospho-c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) in a dose-dependent manner.
Discussion
BIS markedly alleviated DEP-induced lung injury by regulating the inflammatory, oxidative stress, and apoptotic biomarkers through the JNK signaling pathway. Following additional studies, BIS may be considered as a plausible protective agent against inhaled-particle-induced pulmonary adverse effects.
... We also included othersource PM 2.5 in the model to test its potential confounding effects. We also employed a negative exposure control to address the influence of unmeasured confounding variables 44,45 . We included exposures occurring after admission (lead) as negative exposure controls. ...
There is a growing interest in the health impacts of PM2.5 originating from landscape fires. We conducted a time-series study to investigate the association between daily exposure to landscape fire PM2.5 and hospital admissions for cardiovascular events in 184 major Chinese cities. We developed a machine learning model combining outputs from chemical transport models, meteorological information and observed air pollution data to determine daily concentrations of landscape fire PM2.5. Furthermore, we fitted quasi-Poisson regression to evaluate the link between landscape fire PM2.5 concentrations and cardiovascular hospitalizations in each city, and conducted random-effects meta-analysis to pool the city-specific estimates. Here we show that, on a national scale, a rise of 1-μg/m³ in landscape fire PM2.5 concentrations is positively related to a same-day 0.16% (95% confidence interval: 0.01%–0.32%) increase in hospital admissions for cardiovascular disease, 0.28% (0.12%–0.44%) for ischemic heart disease, and 0.25% (0.02%–0.47%) for ischemic stroke. The associations remain significant even after adjusting for other sources of PM2.5. Our findings indicate that transient elevation in landscape fire PM2.5 levels may increase risk of cardiovascular diseases.
... Meeting the World Health Organization's air quality guidelines would increase global average life expectancy by 0.6 years, equivalent to eliminating the burden of lung and breast cancer [6]. Some studies have indicated the associations between air pollution and an increased risk of nonaccidental mortality [7][8][9][10]. Therefore, prioritizing efforts to improve air quality is imperative. ...
... As shown in Table 2, before the outbreak of COVID-19, the daily mean concentrations of PM 2.5 , PM 10 According to the China National Ambient Air Quality Standard (GB3095-2012), before COVID-19, the mean annual concentration of PM 2.5 , PM 10 , and O 3 in Yancheng exceeded the first level limit but reached level second standards, SO 2 and NO 2 reached level first standards. After the outbreak of COVID-19, PM 2.5 , SO 2 , and NO 2 reached the first-level standard, while PM 10 and O 3 reached the second-level standard ( Table 2). ...
... and 1.48% (95% CI: 0.36%,2.42%) (Fig. 4) 10 reached the maximum on the lag of two days. When PM 2.5 and PM 10 increased by 10 µg/m³, the ER of nonaccidental death in women increased by 0.53% (95% CI: 0.17%, 0.90%) and 0.39% (95% CI: 0.10%, 0.68%) (Fig. 5). ...
Background
During the COVID-19 pandemic, non-therapeutic interventions (NPIs), such as traffic restrictions, work stoppages, and school suspensions, have led to a sharp decline in the concentration of air pollutants in the epidemic sites. However, few studies focused on the impact of air pollutant changes on the risk of nonaccidental death.
Method
We selected Yancheng City, China, as the study site and applied a Generalized Additive Model (GAM) based on the quasi-Poisson distribution to evaluate the impact of atmospheric pollutants exposure on the nonaccidental death of local residents. The time span of this study was set from January 1, 2013, to December 21, 2022, that is, before and after the outbreak of COVID-19.
Results
The concentration of some air pollutants has greatly varied after the outbreak of COVID-19, with a significant decline for PM2.5 (− 43.4%), PM10 (− 38.5%), SO2 (− 62.9%), and NO2 (− 22.6%), but an increase for O3 (+ 4.3%). Comparative analysis showed that PM2.5 contributed to an increased risk of nonaccidental death after the outbreak of COVID-19. With an increase in PM2.5 by 10 µg/m³, the excess relative risks (ER) of nonaccidental death of residents increased by 1.01% (95%CI: 0.19%,1.84%). The stratified analysis revealed that air pollutants impacted nonaccidental deaths in both men and women before the outbreak of COVID-19. After the outbreak of COVID-19, PM10 had a significant effect on male nonaccidental deaths. The concentrations of PM2.5, PM10, and SO2 increased by 10 µg/m³, the ER of PM2.5, PM10, and SO2 on female nonaccidental death increased by 1.52% (0.38%,2.67%), 0.58% (0.02%,1.13%), and 15.09% (5.73%,25.28%), respectively. Before the outbreak of COVID-19, five air pollutants had an impact on the death of residents from cardiovascular disease (CVD). After the outbreak of COVID-19, only PM10 significantly affected the death risk of CVD. In addition, we discovered that PM2.5, PM10, and SO2 significantly impacted the risk of death due to respiratory diseases before and after the outbreak of COVID-19.
Conclusions
Air pollutants have different effects on nonaccidental deaths before and after the COVID-19 outbreak. A decrease in air pollutant concentration due to the NPIs for COVID-19 had a significant effect on the reduction of the risk of nonaccidental death.
... 36 While there is extensive evidence that elevated levels of PM 2.5 are associated with adverse lung function outcomes, 71,72 levels of PM 2.5 below the WHO guidelines are still associated with respiratory illness. 73,74 This provides support for the case that lower levels of air pollution still present with adverse outcomes among those children with compromised lung health. Thus the WHO and South African National Ambient Air Quality Standards strategy for a continued reduction in these standards is necessary. ...
Background
Asthma affects millions of people globally, and high levels of air pollution aggravate asthma occurrence. This study aimed to determine the association between short-term lagged PM 2.5 exposure and airway inflammation, lung function, and asthma symptom scores among schoolchildren in communities in the Highveld high-pollution region in South Africa.
Methods
A cross-sectional study was conducted among schoolchildren aged 9–14 years in six communities in the Highveld region in South Africa, between October 2018 and February 2019. A NIOX 200 instrument was used to measure fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO). Lung function indices (forced expiratory volume in one second [FEV 1 ]; forced vital capacity [FVC] and FEV 1 /FVC) were collected using spirometry and the percent of predicted of these was based on the reference equations from the Global Lung Initiative, without ethnic correction. These values were further analyzed as binary outcomes following relevant thresholds (lower limits of normal for lung function and a cutoff of 35 ppb for FeNO). Asthma symptoms were used to create the asthma symptom score. Daily averages of PM 2.5 data for the nearest monitoring station located in each community, were collected from the South African Air Quality Information System and created short-term 5-day lag PM 2.5 concentrations. Additional reported environmental exposures were collected using standardized instruments.
Results
Of the 706 participating schoolchildren, only 1.13% of the participants had doctor-diagnosed asthma, compared to a prevalence of 6.94% with an asthma symptom score suggestive of asthma. Lag 1 (odds ratio [OR]: 1.01; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.00, 1.02, P = 0.039) and 5-day average lagged PM 2.5 (OR: 1.02; 95% CI: 0.99, 1.04, P = 0.050) showed increased odds of the FeNO > 35 ppb. Lung function parameters (FEV 1 < lower limit of normal [LLN] [OR: 1.02, 95% CI: 1.00, 1.03, P = 0.018], and FEV 1 /FVC < LLN [OR: 1.01; 95% CI: 1.00, 1.02, P < 0.001]) and asthma symptom score ≥ 2 (OR: 1.02; 95% CI: 1.00, 1.04, P = 0.039) also showed significant associations with lag 2, lag 4 and lag 1 of PM 2.5 , respectively.
Conclusion
Lagged PM 2.5 exposure was associated with an increased odds of airway inflammation and an increased odds of lung function parameters below the LLN particularly for the later lags, but a significant dose–response relationship across the entire sample was not consistent.
... The primary cause of these fatalities is non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as stroke, heart disease and lung cancer while the remainder are due to lower respiratory infections (World Health Organization, 2023). Both short-term and long-term exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) air pollution are associated with negative health impacts, including morbidity and all-cause mortality (Hales et al., 2021, Liu, Wei, Kosheleva and Schwartz, 2022, Zhang et al., 2016. Additionally, vulnerable groups such as children, the elderly and individuals with pre-existing conditions are disproportionately affected by exposure to poor air quality (Manisalidis, Stavropoulou, Stavropoulos and Bezirtzoglou, 2020, Simoni et al., 2015, World Health Organization, 2023. ...
... NO 2 is a major air pollutant which significantly impacts human health (Hales et al., 2021, Liu, Wei, Kosheleva and Schwartz, 2022, Zhang et al., 2016. The largest contributor to NO 2 pollution in urban areas is vehicle emissions (European Environmental Agency, 2016, United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2016. ...
