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Leirião L, de Oliveira M, Martins T, Miraglia S. A Multi-Pollutant and Meteorological Analysis of Cardiorespiratory Mortality among the Elderly in São Paulo, Brazil-An Artificial Neural Networks Approach. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2023; 20:ijerph20085458. [PMID: 37107740 PMCID: PMC10138542 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20085458] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2023] [Revised: 03/30/2023] [Accepted: 04/07/2023] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Traditionally, studies that associate air pollution with health effects relate individual pollutants to outcomes such as mortality or hospital admissions. However, models capable of analyzing the effects resulting from the atmosphere mixture are demanded. In this study, multilayer perceptron neural networks were evaluated to associate PM10, NO2, and SO2 concentrations, temperature, wind speed, and relative air humidity with cardiorespiratory mortality among the elderly in São Paulo, Brazil. Daily data from 2007 to 2019 were considered and different numbers of neurons on the hidden layer, algorithms, and a combination of activation functions were tested. The best-fitted artificial neural network (ANN) resulted in a MAPE equal to 13.46%. When individual season data were analyzed, the MAPE decreased to 11%. The most influential variables in cardiorespiratory mortality among the elderly were PM10 and NO2 concentrations. The relative humidity variable is more important during the dry season, and temperature is more important during the rainy season. The models were not subjected to the multicollinearity issue as with classical regression models. The use of ANNs to relate air quality to health outcomes is still very incipient, and this work highlights that it is a powerful tool that should be further explored.
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Choi W, Kim KY. Association between exposure level of air pollutants and incidence rate of circulatory disease in residential and industrial areas of South Korea. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH RESEARCH 2022; 32:2450-2459. [PMID: 34433346 DOI: 10.1080/09603123.2021.1969647] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2021] [Accepted: 08/15/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
This study investigated the correlation between the concentration of air pollutants in two metropolitan cities, Seoul and Incheon, located in South Korea with different urban characteristics and the number of patients with circulatory diseases among residents exposed to air pollution. The residential area was selected as Eunpyeong-gu of Seoul Metropolitan City and the industrial area as Jung-gu of Incheon Metropolitan City. The evaluation period is between 2015 and 2016. The relevant data provide by the Korea governmental agency were analysed to derive the purpose of this study. It was confirmed that PM10, PM2.5, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and sulfur dioxide among air pollutants had an increasing impact on the incidence rate of circulatory diseases. The PM2.5 was positively correlated with the incidence rate of all circulatory diseases in residential area (p < 0.05). The carbon monoxide showed a positive correlation with circulatory system diseases except for hypertension in residential area. (p < 0.05). The sulfur dioxide was positively correlated with all circulatory diseases in both residential and industrial area (p < 0.05). Based on the results obtained from this study, it was found that there are different types of air pollutants that affect circulatory diseases in residential and industrial areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Won Choi
- Graduate School of Safety Engineering, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Nowon-gu,Seoul, Korea
| | - Ki-Youn Kim
- Graduate School of Safety Engineering, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Nowon-gu,Seoul, Korea
- Department of Safety Engineering, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Nowon-gu, Seoul, Korea
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Pereira Barboza E, Nieuwenhuijsen M, Ambròs A, Sá THD, Mueller N. The impact of urban environmental exposures on health: An assessment of the attributable mortality burden in Sao Paulo city, Brazil. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 831:154836. [PMID: 35351512 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.154836] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2022] [Revised: 03/18/2022] [Accepted: 03/22/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Currently, more than half of the global population lives in cities. Contemporary urban planning practices result in environmental risk factors (e.g. air pollution, noise, lack of green space, excess heat) that put health and well-being of city dwellers at risk and contribute to chronic diseases and premature death. Despite a growing body of evidence on adverse health impacts related to current urban and transport planning practices, especially for cities in the Global North, not much is known about associated health impacts in South American cities. Therefore, we estimated the mortality burden attributable to breaching internationally-recommended or locally-preferable exposure levels of urban planning related environmental exposures in Sao Paulo, Brazil. METHODS We carried out a health impact assessment study, following the comparative risk assessment framework, to assess preventable mortality impacts of breaching exposure recommendations for air pollution, green spaces and temperature at the census tract (CT) level (n = 18,363). We also assessed the distribution thereof by socioeconomic vulnerability. RESULTS We estimated that annually 11,372 (95% CI: 7921; 15,910) attributable deaths could be prevented by complying with recommended exposure levels. The largest proportion of preventable mortality was due to breaching air pollution limits (i.e. 8409 attributable deaths), followed by insufficient green space (i.e. 2593), and excess heat (i.e. 370). Adverse health impacts were larger in CTs of lower socioeconomic vulnerability, due to demographic profile, traffic density and residential area configurations. DISCUSSION Not complying with the health limits for air pollution, green space and temperature exposures resulted in a considerable preventable mortality burden (i.e. 17% of total expected deaths) in Sao Paulo. This burden can be reduced by improving current urban and transport planning practices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evelise Pereira Barboza
- Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Barcelona, Spain; Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain; CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain; École de Hautes Etudes en Santé Publique (EHESP), France
| | - Mark Nieuwenhuijsen
- Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Barcelona, Spain; Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain; CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain.
| | - Albert Ambròs
- Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Barcelona, Spain; Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain; CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
| | - Thiago Herick de Sá
- Center for Epidemiological Research in Nutrition and Health, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Natalie Mueller
- Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Barcelona, Spain; Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain; CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
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Retrieval of Black Carbon Absorption Aerosol Optical Depth from AERONET Observations over the World during 2000–2018. REMOTE SENSING 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/rs14061510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/10/2022]
Abstract
Black carbon (BC) absorption aerosol optical depth (AAODBC) defines the contribution of BC in light absorption and is retrievable using sun/sky radiometer measurements provided by Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) inversion products. In this study, we utilized AERONET-retrieved depolarization ratio (DPR, δp), single scattering albedo (SSA, ω), and Ångström Exponent (AE, å) of version 3 level 2.0 products as indicators to estimate the contribution of BC to the absorbing fractions of AOD. We applied our methodology to the AERONET sites, including North and South America, Europe, East Asia, Africa, India, and the Middle East, during 2000–2018. The long-term AAODBC showed a downward tendency over Sao Paulo (−0.001 year−1), Thessaloniki (−0.0004 year−1), Beijing (−0.001 year−1), Seoul (−0.0015 year−1), and Cape Verde (−0.0009 year−1) with the highest values over the populous sites. This declining tendency in AAODBC can be attributable to the successful emission control policies over these sites, particularly in Europe, America, and China. The AAODBC at the Beijing, Sao Paulo, Mexico City, and the Indian sites showed a clear seasonality indicating the notable role of residential heating in BC emissions over these sites during winter. We found a higher correlation between AAODBC and fine mode AOD at 440 nm at all sites except for Beijing. High pollution episodes, BC emission from different sources, and aggregation properties seem to be the main drivers of higher AAODBC correlation with coarse particles over Beijing.
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Błażejczyk K, Twardosz R, Wałach P, Czarnecka K, Błażejczyk A. Heat strain and mortality effects of prolonged central European heat wave-an example of June 2019 in Poland. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOMETEOROLOGY 2022; 66:149-161. [PMID: 34698932 PMCID: PMC8727406 DOI: 10.1007/s00484-021-02202-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2021] [Revised: 09/21/2021] [Accepted: 10/01/2021] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
The occurrence of long-lasting severe heat stress, such as in July-August 2003, July 2010, or in April-May 2018 has been one of the biggest meteorological threats in Europe in recent years. The paper focuses on the biometeorological and mortality effects of the hot June that was observed in Central Europe in 2019. The basis of the study was hourly and daily Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) values at meteorological stations in Poland for June 2019. The average monthly air temperature and UTCI values from 1951 to 2018 were analysed as background. Grosswetterlagen calendar of atmospheric circulation was used to assess synoptic conditions of heat wave. Several heat strain measures were applied : net heat storage (S), modelled heart rate (HR), sultriness (HSI), and UTCI index. Actual total mortality (TM) and modelled strong heat-related mortality (SHRM) were taken as indicators of biometeorological consequences of the hot June in 2019. The results indicate that prolonged persistence of unusually warm weather in June 2019 was determined by the synoptic conditions occurring over the European region and causing advection of tropical air. They led to the emergence of heat waves causing 10% increase in TM and 5 times bigger SHRM then in preceding 10 years. Such increase in SHRM was an effect of overheating and overload of circulatory system of human organism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Krzysztof Błażejczyk
- Climate Impacts Laboratory, Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization, Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00-818 Warszawa, Poland
| | - Robert Twardosz
- Faculty of Geography and Geology, Jagiellonian University in Cracow, Gronostajowa 7, 30-387 Kraków, Poland
| | - Piotr Wałach
- Institute of Meteorology and Water Management, National Research Institute, Borowego 14, 30-215 Kraków, Poland
| | - Kaja Czarnecka
- Climate Impacts Laboratory, Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization, Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00-818 Warszawa, Poland
| | - Anna Błażejczyk
- Laboratory of Bioclimatology and Environmental Ergonomic, Łukowska 17/55, 04-133 Warszawa, Poland
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Dimitriadis C, Gao CX, Ikin JF, Wolfe R, Gabbe BJ, Sim MR, Abramson MJ, Guo Y. Exposure to mine fire related particulate matter and mortality: A time series analysis from the Hazelwood Health Study. CHEMOSPHERE 2021; 285:131351. [PMID: 34329135 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.131351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2021] [Revised: 06/23/2021] [Accepted: 06/26/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND In 2014, the Morwell brown coal mine, located in the Latrobe Valley of South eastern Australia, caught fire covering nearby areas in plumes of smoke over a 6-week period. AIMS To investigate the association between exposure to mine fire related air pollution and the risk of mortality. METHODS Time series models were used to evaluate the risk of mortality during the first 30 days of the mine fire, when the smoke was most intense, and in the following six months. Associations were also investigated between mine fire related PM2.5 and mortality. RESULTS During the 30-day mine fire period, there was an increased risk of death from injury in the most exposed town of Morwell, however no increased risk was observed for all-cause, cardiovascular or respiratory mortality. In the broader Latrobe Valley, males and residents aged 80 and above were at greatest risk of death from injury during the mine fire. In Morwell, during the six months after the mine fire there was an increased risk of all-cause mortality and death from Ischaemic Heart Disease (IHD). Males and residents aged 80 and above in the broader Latrobe Valley, were at increased risk of death from IHD six months after the fire. CONCLUSIONS Coal mine fire exposure was associated with an increase in injury deaths during the mine fire and cardiovascular deaths in the six months after the fire. These findings assist in identifying at risk groups, and improving targeted health advice for future air pollution exposures in the community.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina Dimitriadis
- School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Caroline X Gao
- School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia; Centre for Youth Mental Health (Orygen), University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Jillian F Ikin
- School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Rory Wolfe
- School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Belinda J Gabbe
- School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Malcolm R Sim
- School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Michael J Abramson
- School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Yuming Guo
- School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.
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Santos UDP, Arbex MA, Braga ALF, Mizutani RF, Cançado JED, Terra-Filho M, Chatkin JM. Environmental air pollution: respiratory effects. J Bras Pneumol 2021; 47:e20200267. [PMID: 33567063 PMCID: PMC7889311 DOI: 10.36416/1806-3756/e20200267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2020] [Accepted: 12/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Environmental air pollution is a major risk factor for morbidity and mortality worldwide. Environmental air pollution has a direct impact on human health, being responsible for an increase in the incidence of and number of deaths due to cardiopulmonary, neoplastic, and metabolic diseases; it also contributes to global warming and the consequent climate change associated with extreme events and environmental imbalances. In this review, we present articles that show the impact that exposure to different sources and types of air pollutants has on the respiratory system; we present the acute effects-such as increases in symptoms and in the number of emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and deaths-and the chronic effects-such as increases in the incidence of asthma, COPD, and lung cancer, as well as a rapid decline in lung function. The effects of air pollution in more susceptible populations and the effects associated with physical exercise in polluted environments are also presented and discussed. Finally, we present the major studies on the subject conducted in Brazil. Health care and disease prevention services should be aware of this important risk factor in order to counsel more susceptible individuals about protective measures that can facilitate their treatment, as well as promoting the adoption of environmental measures that contribute to the reduction of such emissions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ubiratan de Paula Santos
- . Divisão de Pneumologia, Instituto do Coração - InCor - Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo (SP) Brasil
| | - Marcos Abdo Arbex
- . Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Araraquara - UNIARA - Araraquara (SP) Brasil
- . Núcleo de Estudos em Epidemiologia Ambiental, Laboratório de Poluição Atmosférica Experimental - NEEA-LPAE - Departamento de Patologia, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo (SP) Brasil
| | - Alfésio Luis Ferreira Braga
- . Núcleo de Estudos em Epidemiologia Ambiental, Laboratório de Poluição Atmosférica Experimental - NEEA-LPAE - Departamento de Patologia, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo (SP) Brasil
- . Grupo de Avaliação de Exposição e Risco Ambiental, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Saúde Coletiva, Universidade Católica de Santos - UNISANTOS - Santos (SP) Brasil
| | - Rafael Futoshi Mizutani
- . Grupo de Doenças Respiratórias Ambientais, Ocupacionais e de Cessação de Tabagismo, Divisão de Pneumologia, Instituto do Coração - InCor - Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo (SP) Brasil
| | | | - Mário Terra-Filho
- . Departamento de Cardiopneumologia, Divisão de Pneumologia, Instituto do Coração - InCor - Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo (SP) Brasil
| | - José Miguel Chatkin
- . Disciplina de Medicina Interna/Pneumologia, Escola de Medicina, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul - PUCRS - Porto Alegre (RS), Brasil
- . Hospital São Lucas, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul - PUCRS - Porto Alegre (RS), Brasil
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Huang S, Xiong J, Vieira CLZ, Blomberg AJ, Gold DR, Coull BA, Sarosiek K, Schwartz JD, Wolfson JM, Li J, Koutrakis P. Short-term exposure to ambient particle gamma radioactivity is associated with increased risk for all-cause non-accidental and cardiovascular mortality. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2020; 721:137793. [PMID: 32172126 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137793] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2019] [Revised: 03/05/2020] [Accepted: 03/06/2020] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Recent studies have found that particulate matter (PM) attached radioactivity was associated with certain adverse health effects including increased blood pressure and lung dysfunction. However, there has been no investigation on the direct effect of PM radioactivity on mortality. METHODS Exposures to ambient PM gamma activities were determined using U.S. EPA RadNet data. Data on daily deaths were obtained from individual state Departments of Public Health. We used a generalized additive quasi-Poisson model to estimate the associations between two-day average ambient PM gamma activities (gamma2 through gamma9) with all-cause non-accidental and cardiovascular daily deaths for each of 18 US cities, for each season, adjusting for two-day average PM2.5 exposure, temperature, relative humidity, day of week and long-term trends. Subsequently, we used random-effects meta-analysis to estimate the overall effect in the 18 cities for each season. RESULTS We found that all-cause non-accidental daily mortality in spring season was positively associated with two-day average ambient PM gamma activities in spring, with significant results for gamma2, gamma5 and gamma6. Similarly, cardiovascular daily mortality was positively associated with two-day average ambient PM gamma activities, with significant results for gamma2, gamma4, gamma5, gamma6, gamma7 and gamma9. For the spring season, each interquartile range (IQR) increase of two-day averaged ambient PM gamma activity was associated with increase in all-cause daily deaths, ranging from 0.15% (95% Confidence Interval (CI): -0.36%, 0.65%) to 1.03 (95%CI: 0.18%, 1.89%). Each IQR was also associated with increase in cardiovascular daily deaths, ranging from 0.01% (95%CI: -0.89, 0.92) to 2.95% (95%CI: 1.33, 4.59). For other seasons overall we found statistically insignificant associations of PM radioactivity with mortality. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that there are potential systemic toxic effects of inhalation of radionuclides attached to ambient air particles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaodan Huang
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston 02115, USA
| | - Jianyin Xiong
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Carolina L Z Vieira
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston 02115, USA
| | - Annelise J Blomberg
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston 02115, USA
| | - Diane R Gold
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston 02115, USA
| | - Brent A Coull
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston 02115, USA; Department of Biostatistics at Harvard School of Public Health, Boston 02115, USA
| | - Kristopher Sarosiek
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston 02115, USA
| | - Joel D Schwartz
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston 02115, USA; Environmental Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston 02115, USA
| | - Jack M Wolfson
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston 02115, USA
| | - Jing Li
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston 02115, USA.
| | - Petros Koutrakis
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston 02115, USA
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Deng X, Li L. Promoting or Inhibiting? The Impact of Environmental Regulation on Corporate Financial Performance-An Empirical Analysis Based on China. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2020; 17:ijerph17113828. [PMID: 32481632 PMCID: PMC7312506 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17113828] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2020] [Revised: 05/22/2020] [Accepted: 05/25/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Today, environmental protection has become a global issue, and various environmental regulations have been actively adopted. However, are these measures promoting or harming enterprise values? Is this effect the same for enterprises with different ownership backgrounds? In order to address these problems, we conducted an empirical analysis of China’s A-share market to investigate the relationship between the New Environmental Protection Law (NEPL) launched in China and corporate financial performance, and further explore the impact of environmental supervision intensity (ESI) from the perspective of ownership. The empirical results show that there is a negative correlation between NEPL and the financial performance of high pollution enterprises. Further analysis demonstrates that there is an inverted U-shape relationship between ESI and corporate financial performance for both state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and non-state-owned enterprises (non-SOEs), while the financial performance of SOEs is more sensitive and tolerant to environmental regulation than that of non-SOEs. Finally, we make recommendations for the future direction of China’s ecological civilization construction and sustainable development of enterprises based on three aspects: environmental awareness, policy considerations, and sustainable development. The innovation of this paper lies in putting NEPL and corporate financial performance in the same analytical framework for the first time, which enriches the research in this field. Meanwhile, it provides a new perspective for understanding the relationship between ESI and corporate financial performance through the analysis of nonlinearity and owner heterogeneity.
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Vilas Boas DS, Matsuda M, Toffoletto O, Garcia MLB, Saldiva PHN, Marquezini MV. Workers of São Paulo city, Brazil, exposed to air pollution: Assessment of genotoxicity. MUTATION RESEARCH-GENETIC TOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MUTAGENESIS 2018; 834:18-24. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mrgentox.2018.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2018] [Revised: 08/02/2018] [Accepted: 08/03/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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Jung SJ, Mehta JS, Tong L. Effects of environment pollution on the ocular surface. Ocul Surf 2018; 16:198-205. [PMID: 29510225 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtos.2018.03.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 100] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2017] [Revised: 01/22/2018] [Accepted: 03/01/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The twenty-first century is fraught with dangers like climate change and pollution, which impacts human health and mortality. As levels of pollution increase, respiratory illnesses and cardiovascular ailments become more prevalent. Less understood are the eye-related complaints, which are commonly associated with increasing pollution. Affected people may complain of irritation, redness, foreign body sensation, tearing, and blurring of vision. Sources of pollution are varied, ranging from gases (such as ozone and NO2) and particulate matter produced from traffic, to some other hazards associated with indoor environments. Mechanisms causing ocular surface disease involve toxicity, oxidative stress, and inflammation. Homeostatic mechanisms of the ocular surface may adapt to certain chronic changes in the environment, so affected people may not always be symptomatic. However there are many challenges associated with assessing effects of air pollution on eyes, as pollution is large scale and difficult to control. Persons with chronic allergic or atopic tendencies may have a pre-existing state of heightened mucosal immune response, hence they may have less tolerance for further environmental antigenic stimulation. It is beneficial to identify vulnerable people whose quality of life will be significantly impaired by environmental changes and provide counter measures in the form of protection or treatment. Better technologies in monitoring of pollutants and assessment of the eye will facilitate progress in this field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Se Ji Jung
- Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore; Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore.
| | - Jodhbir S Mehta
- Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore; Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore; Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore; Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore
| | - Louis Tong
- Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore; Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore; Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore; Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore.
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Błażejczyk A, Błażejczyk K, Baranowski J, Kuchcik M. Heat stress mortality and desired adaptation responses of healthcare system in Poland. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOMETEOROLOGY 2018; 62:307-318. [PMID: 28864962 DOI: 10.1007/s00484-017-1423-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2016] [Revised: 05/09/2017] [Accepted: 08/07/2017] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Heat stress is one of the environmental factors influencing the health of individuals and the wider population. There is a large body of research to document significant increases in mortality and morbidity during heat waves all over the world. This paper presents key results of research dealing with heat-related mortality (HRM) in various cities in Poland which cover about 25% of the country's population. Daily mortality and weather data reports for the years 1991-2000 were used. The intensity of heat stress was assessed by the universal thermal climate index (UTCI). The research considers also the projections of future bioclimate to the end of twenty-first century. Brain storming discussions were applied to find necessary adaptation strategies of healthcare system (HCS) in Poland, to minimise negative effects of heat stress. In general, in days with strong and very strong heat stress, ones must expect increase in mortality (in relation to no thermal stress days) of 12 and 47%, respectively. Because of projected rise in global temperature and heat stress frequency, we must expect significant increase in HRM to the end of twenty-first century of even 165% in comparison to present days. The results of research show necessity of urgent implementation of adaptation strategies to heat in HCS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Błażejczyk
- Bioklimatologia, Laboratory of Bioclimatology and Environmental Ergonomics, Łukowska 17/55, 04-133, Warsaw, Poland.
| | - Krzysztof Błażejczyk
- Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization, Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00-818, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Jarosław Baranowski
- Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization, Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00-818, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Magdalena Kuchcik
- Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization, Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00-818, Warsaw, Poland
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Levin RK, Katz M, Saldiva PHN, Caixeta A, Franken M, Pereira C, Coslovsky SV, Pesaro AE. Increased hospitalizations for decompensated heart failure and acute myocardial infarction during mild winters: A seven-year experience in the public health system of the largest city in Latin America. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0190733. [PMID: 29300764 PMCID: PMC5754126 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0190733] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2017] [Accepted: 12/15/2017] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In high-income temperate countries, the number of hospitalizations for heart failure (HF) and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) increases during the winter. This finding has not been fully investigated in low- and middle-income countries with tropical and subtropical climates. We investigated the seasonality of hospitalizations for HF and AMI in Sao Paulo (Brazil), the largest city in Latin America. METHODS This was a retrospective study using data for 76,474 hospitalizations for HF and 54,561 hospitalizations for AMI obtained from public hospitals, from January 2008 to April 2015. The average number of hospitalizations for HF and AMI per month during winter was compared to each of the other seasons. The autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model was used to test the association between temperature and hospitalization rates. FINDINGS The highest average number of hospital admissions for HF and AMI per month occurred during winter, with an increase of up to 30% for HF and 16% for AMI when compared to summer, the season with lowest figures for both diseases (respectively, HF: 996 vs. 767 per month, p<0.001; and AMI: 678 vs. 586 per month, p<0.001). Monthly average temperatures were moderately lower during winter than other seasons and they were not associated with hospitalizations for HF and AMI. INTERPRETATION The winter season was associated with a greater number of hospitalizations for both HF and AMI. This increase was not associated with seasonal oscillations in temperature, which were modest. Our study suggests that the prevention of cardiovascular disease decompensation should be emphasized during winter even in low to middle-income countries with tropical and subtropical climates.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Marcelo Katz
- Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
| | - Paulo H. N. Saldiva
- Instituto de Estudos Avançados da Universidade de São Paulo, Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
| | - Adriano Caixeta
- Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
| | - Marcelo Franken
- Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
| | - Carolina Pereira
- Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
| | - Salo V. Coslovsky
- Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service, New York University, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Antonio E. Pesaro
- Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
- * E-mail:
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Nascimento AP, Santos JM, Mill JG, Souza JBD, Reis NC, Reisen VA. Association between the concentration of fine particles in the atmosphere and acute respiratory diseases in children. Rev Saude Publica 2017; 51:3. [PMID: 28099552 PMCID: PMC5260929 DOI: 10.1590/s1518-8787.2017051006523] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2015] [Accepted: 11/14/2015] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To analyze the association between fine particulate matter concentration in the atmosphere and hospital care by acute respiratory diseases in children. METHODS Ecological study, carried out in the region of Grande Vitória, Espírito Santo, in the winter (June 21 to September 21, 2013) and summer (December 21, 2013 to March 19, 2014). We assessed data of daily count for outpatient care and hospitalization by respiratory diseases (ICD-10) in children from zero to 12 years in three hospitals in the Region of Grande Vitória. For collecting fine particulate matter, we used portable samplers of particles installed in six locations in the studied region. The Generalized Additive Model with Poisson distribution, fitted for the effects of predictor covariates, was used to evaluate the relationship between respiratory outcomes and concentration of fine particulate matter. RESULTS The increase of 4.2 µg/m3 (interquartile range) in the concentration of fine particulate matter increased in 3.8% and 5.6% the risk of medical care or hospitalization, respectively, on the same day and with six-day lag from the exposure. CONCLUSIONS We identified positive association between outpatient care and hospitalizations of children under 12 years due to acute respiratory diseases and the concentration of fine particulate matter in the atmosphere.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antônio Paula Nascimento
- Departamento de Tecnologia Industrial. Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo. Vitória, ES, Brasil
| | - Jane Meri Santos
- Departamento de Engenharia Ambiental. Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo. Vitória, ES, Brasil
| | - José Geraldo Mill
- Departamento de Ciências Fisiológicas. Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo. Vitória, ES, Brasil
| | - Juliana Bottoni de Souza
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Saúde Coletiva. Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo. Vitória, ES, Brasil
| | - Neyval Costa Reis
- Departamento de Engenharia Ambiental. Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo. Vitória, ES, Brasil
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15
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Orona NS, Ferraro SA, Astort F, Morales C, Brites F, Boero L, Tiscornia G, Maglione GA, Saldiva PHN, Yakisich S, Tasat DR. Acute exposure to Buenos Aires air particles (UAP-BA) induces local and systemic inflammatory response in middle-aged mice: A time course study. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2016; 208:261-270. [PMID: 26255684 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2015.07.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2015] [Revised: 07/14/2015] [Accepted: 07/16/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Exposure to air particulate matter (PM) is associated with increased cardiovascular morbimortality. However, PM doesn't affect equally to all people, being the old cohort the most susceptible and studied. We hypothesized that another specific life phase, the middle-aged subpopulation, may be negatively affected. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze in vivo the acute biological impact of two environmental particles, Urban Air Particles from Buenos Aires and Residual Oil Fly Ash, on the cardiorespiratory system of middle-aged mice, evaluating oxidative metabolism and inflammation. Both PM provoked a local and systemic inflammatory response, leading to a reduced alveolar area in the lung, an epicard inflammation in the heart, an increment of IL-6, and a reduction on PON 1 activity in serum of middle-aged animals. The positive correlation of local parameters with systemic markers of oxidative stress and inflammation could be responsible for associations of cardiovascular morbimortality in this subpopulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadia S Orona
- Center for The Studies in Health and Environment, School of Science and Technology, National University of General San Martín, San Martín, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Committee for Scientific Research, La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
| | - Sebastián A Ferraro
- Center for The Studies in Health and Environment, School of Science and Technology, National University of General San Martín, San Martín, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Committee for Scientific Research, La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Francisco Astort
- Center for The Studies in Health and Environment, School of Science and Technology, National University of General San Martín, San Martín, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Celina Morales
- Institute of Cardiovascular Physiopathology, Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Fernando Brites
- Laboratory of Lipids and Lipoproteins, Department of Clinical Biochemistry, School of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Laura Boero
- Laboratory of Lipids and Lipoproteins, Department of Clinical Biochemistry, School of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Gisela Tiscornia
- Center for The Studies in Health and Environment, School of Science and Technology, National University of General San Martín, San Martín, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Guillermo A Maglione
- Center for The Studies in Health and Environment, School of Science and Technology, National University of General San Martín, San Martín, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Paulo H N Saldiva
- Experimental Atmospheric Pollution Laboratory, School of Medicine, Sao Paulo University, Sao Paulo, Brazil
| | - Sebastian Yakisich
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hampton University, Hampton, VA, USA
| | - Deborah R Tasat
- Center for The Studies in Health and Environment, School of Science and Technology, National University of General San Martín, San Martín, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Department of Histology and Embryology, School of Dentistry, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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16
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Anton SD, Woods AJ, Ashizawa T, Barb D, Buford TW, Carter CS, Clark DJ, Cohen RA, Corbett DB, Cruz-Almeida Y, Dotson V, Ebner N, Efron PA, Fillingim RB, Foster TC, Gundermann DM, Joseph AM, Karabetian C, Leeuwenburgh C, Manini TM, Marsiske M, Mankowski RT, Mutchie HL, Perri MG, Ranka S, Rashidi P, Sandesara B, Scarpace PJ, Sibille KT, Solberg LM, Someya S, Uphold C, Wohlgemuth S, Wu SS, Pahor M. Successful aging: Advancing the science of physical independence in older adults. Ageing Res Rev 2015; 24:304-27. [PMID: 26462882 DOI: 10.1016/j.arr.2015.09.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 158] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2015] [Revised: 09/08/2015] [Accepted: 09/30/2015] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
The concept of 'successful aging' has long intrigued the scientific community. Despite this long-standing interest, a consensus definition has proven to be a difficult task, due to the inherent challenge involved in defining such a complex, multi-dimensional phenomenon. The lack of a clear set of defining characteristics for the construct of successful aging has made comparison of findings across studies difficult and has limited advances in aging research. A consensus on markers of successful aging is furthest developed is the domain of physical functioning. For example, walking speed appears to be an excellent surrogate marker of overall health and predicts the maintenance of physical independence, a cornerstone of successful aging. The purpose of the present article is to provide an overview and discussion of specific health conditions, behavioral factors, and biological mechanisms that mark declining mobility and physical function and promising interventions to counter these effects. With life expectancy continuing to increase in the United States and developed countries throughout the world, there is an increasing public health focus on the maintenance of physical independence among all older adults.
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César ACG, Carvalho JA, Nascimento LFC. Association between NOx exposure and deaths caused by respiratory diseases in a medium-sized Brazilian city. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2015; 48:1130-5. [PMID: 26421866 PMCID: PMC4661030 DOI: 10.1590/1414-431x20154396] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2014] [Accepted: 05/21/2015] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
Abstract
Exposure to nitrogen oxides (NOx) emitted by burning fossil fuels has been associated
with respiratory diseases. We aimed to estimate the effects of NOx exposure on
mortality owing to respiratory diseases in residents of Taubaté, São Paulo, Brazil,
of all ages and both sexes. This time-series ecological study from August 1, 2011 to
July 31, 2012 used information on deaths caused by respiratory diseases obtained from
the Health Department of Taubaté. Estimated daily levels of pollutants (NOx,
particulate matter, ozone, carbon monoxide) were obtained from the Centro de Previsão
de Tempo e Estudos Climáticos Coupled Aerosol and Tracer Transport model to the
Brazilian developments on the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System. These
environmental variables were used to adjust the multipollutant model for apparent
temperature. To estimate association between hospitalizations owing to asthma and air
pollutants, generalized additive Poisson regression models were developed, with lags
as much as 5 days. There were 385 deaths with a daily mean (±SD) of 1.05±1.03 (range:
0-5). Exposure to NOx was significantly associated with mortality owing to
respiratory diseases: relative risk (RR)=1.035 (95% confidence interval [CI]:
1.008-1.063) for lag 2, RR=1.064 (95%CI: 1.017-1.112) lag 3, RR=1.055 (95%CI:
1.025-1.085) lag 4, and RR=1.042 (95%CI: 1.010-1.076) lag 5. A 3 µg/m3
reduction in NOx concentration resulted in a decrease of 10-18 percentage points in
risk of death caused by respiratory diseases. Even at NOx concentrations below the
acceptable standard, there is association with deaths caused by respiratory
diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- A C G César
- Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia de São Paulo, Bragança Paulista, SP, Brasil
| | - J A Carvalho
- Faculdade de Engenharia de Guaratinguetá, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Guaratinguetá, SP, Brasil
| | - L F C Nascimento
- Faculdade de Engenharia de Guaratinguetá, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Guaratinguetá, SP, Brasil
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18
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Pinheiro SDLLDA, Saldiva PHN, Schwartz J, Zanobetti A. Isolated and synergistic effects of PM10 and average temperature on cardiovascular and respiratory mortality. Rev Saude Publica 2015; 48:881-8. [PMID: 26039390 PMCID: PMC4285836 DOI: 10.1590/s0034-8910.2014048005218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2013] [Accepted: 05/23/2014] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To analyze the effect of air pollution and temperature on mortality due to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. METHODS We evaluated the isolated and synergistic effects of temperature and particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter < 10 µm (PM10) on the mortality of individuals > 40 years old due to cardiovascular disease and that of individuals > 60 years old due to respiratory diseases in Sao Paulo, SP, Southeastern Brazil, between 1998 and 2008. Three methodologies were used to evaluate the isolated association: time-series analysis using Poisson regression model, bidirectional case-crossover analysis matched by period, and case-crossover analysis matched by the confounding factor, i.e., average temperature or pollutant concentration. The graphical representation of the response surface, generated by the interaction term between these factors added to the Poisson regression model, was interpreted to evaluate the synergistic effect of the risk factors. RESULTS No differences were observed between the results of the case-crossover and time-series analyses. The percentage change in the relative risk of cardiovascular and respiratory mortality was 0.85% (0.45;1.25) and 1.60% (0.74;2.46), respectively, due to an increase of 10 μg/m3 in the PM10 concentration. The pattern of correlation of the temperature with cardiovascular mortality was U-shaped and that with respiratory mortality was J-shaped, indicating an increased relative risk at high temperatures. The values for the interaction term indicated a higher relative risk for cardiovascular and respiratory mortalities at low temperatures and high temperatures, respectively, when the pollution levels reached approximately 60 μg/m3. CONCLUSIONS The positive association standardized in the Poisson regression model for pollutant concentration is not confounded by temperature, and the effect of temperature is not confounded by the pollutant levels in the time-series analysis. The simultaneous exposure to different levels of environmental factors can create synergistic effects that are as disturbing as those caused by extreme concentrations.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Joel Schwartz
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Antonella Zanobetti
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States
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19
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Pereira BB, Limongi JE. Epidemiologia de desfechos na saúde humana relacionados à poluição atmosférica no Brasil: uma revisão sistemática. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2015. [DOI: 10.1590/1414-462x201400050103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
ResumoO presente artigo revisa e discute aspectos da situação da pesquisa epidemiológica relacionados aos desfechos de saúde decorrentes da poluição atmosférica. Foi realizada uma revisão sistemática de estudos que avaliou os efeitos de poluentes do ar na saúde humana. A qualidade metodológica dos trabalhos também foi avaliada. A revisão identificou 432 estudos que abordaram a temática, dos quais 56 atendem aos critérios de inclusão previamente estabelecidos. Além de evidenciarem um cenário de pesquisa epidemiológica pautado na relação causa-efeito, os resultados apontam para a necessidade de revisão de parâmetros ambientais e expõem desafios e contribuições à pesquisa epidemiológica em saúde ambiental.
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Simoni M, Baldacci S, Maio S, Cerrai S, Sarno G, Viegi G. Adverse effects of outdoor pollution in the elderly. J Thorac Dis 2015; 7:34-45. [PMID: 25694816 DOI: 10.3978/j.issn.2072-1439.2014.12.10] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2014] [Accepted: 01/10/2015] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
With fewer newborns and people living longer, older people are making up an increasing fraction of the total population. Epidemiological evidence shows that older-age-related health problems affect a wide and expanding proportion of the world population. One of the major epidemiological trends of this century is the rise of chronic diseases that affect more elderly than younger people. A total of 3.7 million premature deaths worldwide in 2012 are attributable to outdoor air pollution; the susceptibility to adverse effects of air pollution is expected to differ widely between people and within the same person, and also over time. Frailty history, a measure of multi-system decline, modifies cumulative associations between air pollution and lung function. Moreover, pre-existing diseases may determine susceptibility. In the elderly, due to comorbidity, exposure to air pollutants may even be fatal. Rapid and not-well-planned urbanization is associated with high level of ambient air pollution, mainly caused by vehicular exhausts. In general, there is sufficient evidence of the adverse effects related to short-term exposure, while fewer studies have addressed the longer-term health effects. Increased pollution exposures have been associated with increased mortality, hospital admissions/emergency-room visits, mainly due to exacerbations of chronic diseases or to respiratory tract infections (e.g., pneumonia). These effects may also be modulated by ambient temperature and many studies show that the elderly are mostly vulnerable to heat waves. The association between heat and mortality in the elderly is well-documented, while less is known regarding the associations with hospital admissions. Chronic exposure to elevated levels of air pollution has been related to the incidence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), chronic bronchitis (CB), asthma, and emphysema. There is also growing evidence suggesting adverse effects on lung function related to long-term exposure to ambient air pollution. Few studies have assessed long-term mortality in the elderly. It is still unclear what are the pollutants most damaging to the health of the elderly. It seems that elderly subjects are more vulnerable to particulate matter (PM) than to other pollutants, with particular effect on daily cardio-respiratory mortality and acute hospital admissions. Not many studies have targeted elderly people specifically, as well as specific respiratory morbidity. Most data have shown higher risks in the elderly compared to the rest of the population. Future epidemiological cohort studies need to keep investigating the health effects of air pollutants (mainly cardiopulmonary diseases) on the elderly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marzia Simoni
- 1 Pulmonary Environmental Epidemiology Unit, CNR Institute of Clinical Physiology, Pisa (Italy), Via Trieste 41, 56126, Pisa, Italy ; 2 CNR Institute of Biomedicine and Molecular Immunology "A. Monroy", Via U. La Malfa 153, 90146, Palermo, Italy
| | - Sandra Baldacci
- 1 Pulmonary Environmental Epidemiology Unit, CNR Institute of Clinical Physiology, Pisa (Italy), Via Trieste 41, 56126, Pisa, Italy ; 2 CNR Institute of Biomedicine and Molecular Immunology "A. Monroy", Via U. La Malfa 153, 90146, Palermo, Italy
| | - Sara Maio
- 1 Pulmonary Environmental Epidemiology Unit, CNR Institute of Clinical Physiology, Pisa (Italy), Via Trieste 41, 56126, Pisa, Italy ; 2 CNR Institute of Biomedicine and Molecular Immunology "A. Monroy", Via U. La Malfa 153, 90146, Palermo, Italy
| | - Sonia Cerrai
- 1 Pulmonary Environmental Epidemiology Unit, CNR Institute of Clinical Physiology, Pisa (Italy), Via Trieste 41, 56126, Pisa, Italy ; 2 CNR Institute of Biomedicine and Molecular Immunology "A. Monroy", Via U. La Malfa 153, 90146, Palermo, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Sarno
- 1 Pulmonary Environmental Epidemiology Unit, CNR Institute of Clinical Physiology, Pisa (Italy), Via Trieste 41, 56126, Pisa, Italy ; 2 CNR Institute of Biomedicine and Molecular Immunology "A. Monroy", Via U. La Malfa 153, 90146, Palermo, Italy
| | - Giovanni Viegi
- 1 Pulmonary Environmental Epidemiology Unit, CNR Institute of Clinical Physiology, Pisa (Italy), Via Trieste 41, 56126, Pisa, Italy ; 2 CNR Institute of Biomedicine and Molecular Immunology "A. Monroy", Via U. La Malfa 153, 90146, Palermo, Italy
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Carvalho GMC, Nagato LKDS, Fagundes SDS, Dos Santos FB, Calheiros AS, Malm O, Bozza PT, Saldiva PHN, Faffe DS, Rocco PRM, Zin WA. Time course of pulmonary burden in mice exposed to residual oil fly ash. Front Physiol 2014; 5:366. [PMID: 25309454 PMCID: PMC4174882 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2014.00366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2014] [Accepted: 09/07/2014] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Residual oil fly ash (ROFA) is a common pollutant in areas where oil is burned. This particulate matter (PM) with a broad distribution of particle diameters can be inhaled by human beings and putatively damage their respiratory system. Although some studies deal with cultured cells, animals, and even epidemiological issues, so far a comprehensive analysis of respiratory outcomes as a function of the time elapsed after exposure to a low dose of ROFA is wanted. Thus, we aimed to investigate the time course of mechanical, histological, and inflammatory lung changes, as well as neutrophils in the blood, in mice exposed to ROFA until 5 days after exposure. BALB/c mice (25 ± 5 g) were randomly divided into 7 groups and intranasally instilled with either 10 μL of sterile saline solution (0.9% NaCl, CTRL) or ROFA (0.2 μg in 10 μL of saline solution). Pulmonary mechanics, histology (normal and collapsed alveoli, mononuclear and polymorphonuclear cells, and ultrastructure), neutrophils (in blood and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid) were determined at 6 h in CTRL and at 6, 24, 48, 72, 96, and 120 h after ROFA exposure. ROFA contained metal elements, especially iron, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and organochlorines. Lung resistive pressure augmented early (6 h) in the course of lung injury and other mechanical, histological and inflammatory parameters increased at 24 h, returning to control values at 120 h. Blood neutrophilia was present only at 24 and 48 h after exposure. Swelling of endothelial cells with adherent neutrophils was detected after ROFA instillation. No neutrophils were present in the lavage fluid. In conclusion, the exposure to ROFA, even in low doses, induced early changes in pulmonary mechanics, lung histology and accumulation of neutrophils in blood of mice that lasted for 4 days and disappeared spontaneously.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Lilian Katiê da Silva Nagato
- Laboratory of Respiration Physiology, Carlos Chagas Filho Institute of Biophysics, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Sheila da Silva Fagundes
- Laboratory of Respiration Physiology, Carlos Chagas Filho Institute of Biophysics, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Flávia Brandão Dos Santos
- Laboratory of Respiration Physiology, Carlos Chagas Filho Institute of Biophysics, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Andrea Surrage Calheiros
- Laboratory of Immunopharmacology, Department of Physiology and Pharmacodynamics, Oswaldo Cruz Institute, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Olaf Malm
- Laboratory of Radioisotopes, Carlos Chagas Filho Institute of Biophysics, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Patricia Torres Bozza
- Laboratory of Immunopharmacology, Department of Physiology and Pharmacodynamics, Oswaldo Cruz Institute, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Paulo Hilário N Saldiva
- Laboratory of Experimental Air Pollution, Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Universidade de São Paulo São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Débora Souza Faffe
- Laboratory of Macromolecular Metabolism Firmino Torres de Castro, Carlos Chagas Filho Institute of Biophysics, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Patricia Rieken Macedo Rocco
- Laboratory of Pulmonary Investigation, Carlos Chagas Filho Institute of Biophysics, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Walter Araujo Zin
- Laboratory of Respiration Physiology, Carlos Chagas Filho Institute of Biophysics, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Paiva RFDPDS. Morbidade hospitalar por doenças associadas à poluição do ar na cidade de Volta Redonda, Rio de Janeiro: casos e custo econômico. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2014. [DOI: 10.1590/1414-462x201400020004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Este trabalho teve como objetivo estimar os casos de internação hospitalar por doenças respiratórias selecionadas associados aos níveis de poluição atmosférica na cidade de Volta Redonda (RJ), no período de 2005 a 2007. Foi estimada uma função de regressão de Poisson a partir dos dados diários sobre Autorização de Internação Hospitalar (AIH) disponibilizados pelo Departamento de Informática do Sistema Único de Saúde (DATASUS) - variável dependente, níveis diários de poluentes encontrados na atmosfera coletados pelo Instituto Estadual do Ambiente (INEA) e variáveis de controle. Como principal resultado destaca-se que, das 5.235 internações pelo grupo de doenças avaliado, 6% (317 casos) estão associadas aos níveis de poluentes encontrados na atmosfera. O custo econômico gerado pelas hospitalizações, captado por meio do Método dos Custos Evitados, foi de R$ 170.711,83. Concluiu-se que a existência de substâncias poluentes na atmosfera contribui para o acometimento da população por doenças respiratórias, levando a perdas de bem-estar e econômicas, além de elevar o dispêndio do Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS) com o tratamento e a recuperação das condições de saúde dos pacientes. Nesse contexto, faz-se imprescindível a adoção de políticas que reduzam/eliminem os níveis de poluentes na atmosfera e, em consequência, os prejuízos econômicos e desconfortos gerados.
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Torricelli AAM, Matsuda M, Novaes P, Braga ALF, Saldiva PHN, Alves MR, Monteiro MLR. Effects of ambient levels of traffic-derived air pollution on the ocular surface: analysis of symptoms, conjunctival goblet cell count and mucin 5AC gene expression. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2014; 131:59-63. [PMID: 24657517 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2014.02.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2013] [Revised: 02/18/2014] [Accepted: 02/19/2014] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE To quantify ocular symptoms, goblet cells (GC) and mucin 5AC (MUC5AC) gene expression on the conjunctiva of healthy subjects exposed to ambient levels of traffic-derived air pollution and to estimate its correlation with NO2 and particulate matter smaller than 2.5 μm (PM2.5) levels. METHODS Twenty-one taxi drivers or traffic controllers were assessed with the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) questionnaire and conjunctival impression cytology. MUC5AC mRNA levels were determined based on the cytology of the right eye, and GC density was assessed based on the cytology of the left eye. Mean individual levels of 24-h NO2 and PM2.5 exposure were assessed the day before examination. Possible associations between NO2 or PM2.5 levels, OSDI scores, GC densities and MUC5AC mRNA levels were verified. RESULTS The subjects were exposed to mean PM2.5 levels of 35±12 μg/m(3) and mean NO2 levels of 189±47 μg/m(3). OSDI scores were low (7.4±8) and GC densities were 521±257 and 782±322 cell/mm(2) on the bulbar and tarsal conjunctivas, respectively. The mean GC-derived MUC5AC mRNA expression was 14±7 fM/μg of total RNA. A significant and positive correlation was observed between MUC5AC mRNA levels and tarsal GC density (p=0.018). A trend toward association between PM2.5 levels and tarsal GC cell density (p=0.052) was found. CONCLUSION Exposure to ambient levels of air pollution impacts conjunctival GC density. An increase in MUC5AC mRNA levels may be part of an adaptive ocular surface response to long-term exposure to air pollution.
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Affiliation(s)
- André Augusto Miranda Torricelli
- Division of Ophthalmology and the Laboratory for Investigation in Ophthalmology (LIM-33), University of São Paulo Medical School, Av. Dr. Arnaldo 455, 5th floor, 01246-903 São Paulo, Brazil.
| | - Monique Matsuda
- Division of Ophthalmology and the Laboratory for Investigation in Ophthalmology (LIM-33), University of São Paulo Medical School, Av. Dr. Arnaldo 455, 5th floor, 01246-903 São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Priscila Novaes
- Division of Ophthalmology and the Laboratory for Investigation in Ophthalmology (LIM-33), University of São Paulo Medical School, Av. Dr. Arnaldo 455, 5th floor, 01246-903 São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Alfésio Luiz Ferreira Braga
- Environmental Epidemiology Study Group, Laboratory of Experimental Air Pollution, University of São Paulo Medical School, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Paulo Hilário Nascimento Saldiva
- Environmental Epidemiology Study Group, Laboratory of Experimental Air Pollution, University of São Paulo Medical School, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Milton Ruiz Alves
- Division of Ophthalmology and the Laboratory for Investigation in Ophthalmology (LIM-33), University of São Paulo Medical School, Av. Dr. Arnaldo 455, 5th floor, 01246-903 São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Mário Luiz Ribeiro Monteiro
- Division of Ophthalmology and the Laboratory for Investigation in Ophthalmology (LIM-33), University of São Paulo Medical School, Av. Dr. Arnaldo 455, 5th floor, 01246-903 São Paulo, Brazil
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Mahfuz M, Ahmed T, Ahmad SA, Khan MH. Altered Pulmonary Function among the Transport Workers in Dhaka City. Health (London) 2014. [DOI: 10.4236/health.2014.616249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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Bentayeb M, Simoni M, Norback D, Baldacci S, Maio S, Viegi G, Annesi-Maesano I. Indoor air pollution and respiratory health in the elderly. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND HEALTH. PART A, TOXIC/HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING 2013; 48:1783-9. [PMID: 24007433 DOI: 10.1080/10934529.2013.826052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Data on respiratory effects of indoor air pollution in elderly are scanty. The purpose of this review is to summarize current knowledge on adverse respiratory effects of indoor air pollution in individuals aged over 65 years, by presenting existing epidemiological evidence. Using MEDLINE database through PubMed, we identified relevant publications published between 1991 and 2011 in English on respiratory health effects of indoor air pollution in elderly (>65 years). A total of 61 studies were found and after application of the inclusion criteria: (i) epidemiologic studies published in English in peer-reviewed journals between January 1991 and December 2011, (ii) study population with age over or equal 65 years, and (iii) outcome of respiratory symptoms and disease with the exclusion of lung cancer, 33 relevant publications were selected. Most of them showed significant relationships between exposure to major indoor air pollutants and various short-term and long-term respiratory health outcomes such as wheezing, breathlessness, cough, phlegm, asthma, COPD, lung cancer and more rarely lung function decline. The most consistent relationship is found between chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). Further studies in the elderly population are needed in order to define causal relationships between exposures to indoor air pollution and underlying mechanisms in this sub-population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malek Bentayeb
- Institut National de la Sant´e et Recherche M´edicale, Universit´e Pierre et Marie Curie (UMR), EPAR, Paris, France
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Ferreira AB, Santos JO, Souza SO, Júnior WN, Alves JDPH. Use of passive biomonitoring to evaluate the environmental impact of emissions from cement industries in Sergipe State, northeast Brazil. Microchem J 2012. [DOI: 10.1016/j.microc.2011.12.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
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Silva CBPD, Saldiva PHN, Amato-Lourenço LF, Rodrigues-Silva F, Miraglia SGEK. Evaluation of the air quality benefits of the subway system in São Paulo, Brazil. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2012; 101:191-196. [PMID: 22446073 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2012.02.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2011] [Revised: 01/29/2012] [Accepted: 02/03/2012] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Air pollution is a severe problem in major urban areas due to increasing numbers of vehicles, reduced road capacity and few investments in public transportation, especially in developing countries. Public transportation has a special role in avoiding congestion and consequent environmental and health impacts but is considered expensive. The objective of this paper was to analyze the benefits of the São Paulo subway in terms of the air pollution in the city through strikes events, analyzing both the health outcomes and the related economic burden. For the strike events, increases in air pollutant concentrations during the strike day was observed when compared to a similar day in terms of day of the week and meteorological conditions. Increases in mortality were also observed and the associated economic burden calculated. Despite the elevated construction and operation costs of the subway, when environment and social values are considered, cost-benefit analysis results would indicate a worthwhile investment. The consideration of these aspects is essential to sustainable transportation analyses, and in the case of the São Paulo subway, our analysis clearly demonstrated the important role of this system in the city's environmental, social and economic attributes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cacilda Bastos Pereira da Silva
- Companhia do Metropolitano de São Paulo-Metrô, Departamento de Sistemas de Gestão e Sustentabilidade, Rua Augusta 1626, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
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Damiani RM, Piva MO, Petry MR, Saldiva PHN, Tavares Duarte de Oliveira A, Rhoden CR. Is cardiac tissue more susceptible than lung to oxidative effects induced by chronic nasotropic instillation of residual oil fly ash (ROFA)? Toxicol Mech Methods 2012; 22:533-9. [DOI: 10.3109/15376516.2012.692109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
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Rodriguez-Villamizar LA, Castro-Ortiz H, Rey-Serrano JJ. The effects of air pollution on respiratory health in susceptible populations: a multilevel study in Bucaramanga, Colombia. CAD SAUDE PUBLICA 2012; 28:749-57. [DOI: 10.1590/s0102-311x2012000400014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2011] [Accepted: 12/12/2011] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
We conducted a cohort study to investigate the association between exposure to three different levels of outdoor air pollution and incidence of respiratory symptoms in a population with chronic cardiovascular and respiratory disease. We accompanied 756 participants for a period of six months through the maintenance of a daily record of symptoms and clinic visits. The symptoms with highest incidence rates were sneezing and hacking cough. Multivariate analysis showed that incidence of total symptoms was 60% and 74% lower in areas with medium and low levels of pollution compared to areas with high levels of pollution. These results suggest that negative respiratory effects occur at concentrations of particulate matter PM10 > 60ug/m³.
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Andrade MDF, de Miranda RM, Fornaro A, Kerr A, Oyama B, de Andre PA, Saldiva P. Vehicle emissions and PM(2.5) mass concentrations in six Brazilian cities. AIR QUALITY, ATMOSPHERE, & HEALTH 2012; 5:79-88. [PMID: 22408695 PMCID: PMC3286514 DOI: 10.1007/s11869-010-0104-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2010] [Accepted: 10/27/2010] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
In Brazil, the principal source of air pollution is the combustion of fuels (ethanol, gasohol, and diesel). In this study, we quantify the contributions that vehicle emissions make to the urban fine particulate matter (PM(2.5)) mass in six state capitals in Brazil, collecting data for use in a larger project evaluating the impact of air pollution on human health. From winter 2007 to winter 2008, we collected 24-h PM(2.5) samples, employing gravimetry to determine PM(2.5) mass concentrations; reflectance to quantify black carbon concentrations; X-ray fluorescence to characterize elemental composition; and ion chromatography to determine the composition and concentrations of anions and cations. Mean PM(2.5) concentrations in the cities of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Curitiba, Porto Alegre, and Recife were 28, 17.2, 14.7, 14.4, 13.4, and 7.3 μg/m(3), respectively. In São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, black carbon explained approximately 30% of the PM(2.5) mass. We used receptor models to identify distinct source-related PM(2.5) fractions and correlate those fractions with daily mortality rates. Using specific rotation factor analysis, we identified the following principal contributing factors: soil and crustal material; vehicle emissions and biomass burning (black carbon factor); and fuel oil combustion in industries (sulfur factor). In all six cities, vehicle emissions explained at least 40% of the PM(2.5) mass. Elemental composition determination with receptor modeling proved an adequate strategy to identify air pollution sources and to evaluate their short- and long-term effects on human health. Our data could inform decisions regarding environmental policies vis-à-vis health care costs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria de Fatima Andrade
- Institute of Astronomy, Geophysics, and Atmospheric Sciences, University of São Paulo, Rua do Matão, 1226, CEP 05508-090 São Paulo, Brazil
| | | | - Adalgiza Fornaro
- Institute of Astronomy, Geophysics, and Atmospheric Sciences, University of São Paulo, Rua do Matão, 1226, CEP 05508-090 São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Americo Kerr
- Institute of Physics, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Beatriz Oyama
- Institute of Astronomy, Geophysics, and Atmospheric Sciences, University of São Paulo, Rua do Matão, 1226, CEP 05508-090 São Paulo, Brazil
| | | | - Paulo Saldiva
- University of São Paulo School of Medicine, São Paulo, Brazil
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Chen X, Zhong W, Sun B, Jin B, Zhou X. Study on gas/solid flow in an obstructed pulmonary airway with transient flow based on CFD–DPM approach. POWDER TECHNOL 2012. [DOI: 10.1016/j.powtec.2011.10.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Berrocal VJ, Gelfand AE, Holland DM, Burke J, Miranda ML. On the use of a PM(2.5) exposure simulator to explain birthweight. ENVIRONMETRICS 2011; 22:553-571. [PMID: 21691413 PMCID: PMC3116241 DOI: 10.1002/env.1086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
In relating pollution to birth outcomes, maternal exposure has usually been described using monitoring data. Such characterization provides a misrepresentation of exposure as it (i) does not take into account the spatial misalignment between an individual's residence and monitoring sites, and (ii) it ignores the fact that individuals spend most of their time indoors and typically in more than one location. In this paper, we break with previous studies by using a stochastic simulator to describe personal exposure (to particulate matter) and then relate simulated exposures at the individual level to the health outcome (birthweight) rather than aggregating to a selected spatial unit.We propose a hierarchical model that, at the first stage, specifies a linear relationship between birthweight and personal exposure, adjusting for individual risk factors and introduces random spatial effects for the census tract of maternal residence. At the second stage, our hierarchical model specifies the distribution of each individual's personal exposure using the empirical distribution yielded by the stochastic simulator as well as a model for the spatial random effects.We have applied our framework to analyze birthweight data from 14 counties in North Carolina in years 2001 and 2002. We investigate whether there are certain aspects and time windows of exposure that are more detrimental to birthweight by building different exposure metrics which we incorporate, one by one, in our hierarchical model. To assess the difference in relating ambient exposure to birthweight versus personal exposure to birthweight, we compare estimates of the effect of air pollution obtained from hierarchical models that linearly relate ambient exposure and birthweight versus those obtained from our modeling framework.Our analysis does not show a significant effect of PM(2.5) on birthweight for reasons which we discuss. However, our modeling framework serves as a template for analyzing the relationship between personal exposure and longer term health endpoints.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alan E. Gelfand
- Department of Statistical Science, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA ()
| | - David M. Holland
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Exposure Research Laboratory, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA ()
| | - Janet Burke
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Exposure Research Laboratory, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA ()
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Zanchi ACT, Fagundes LS, Barbosa F, Bernardi R, Rhoden CR, Saldiva PHN, do Valle AC. Pre and post-natal exposure to ambient level of air pollution impairs memory of rats: the role of oxidative stress. Inhal Toxicol 2011; 22:910-8. [PMID: 20569119 DOI: 10.3109/08958378.2010.494313] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
The aims of this study were to evaluate whether air pollution during pre-natal and post-natal phases change habituation and short-term discriminative memories and if oxidants are involved in this process. As secondary objectives, it was to evaluate if the change of filtered to nonfiltered environment could protect the cortex of rats against oxidative stress as well as to modify the behavior of these animals. Wistar, male rats were divided into four groups (n = 12/group): pre and post-natal exposure until adulthood to filtered air (FA); pre-natal period to nonfiltered air (NFA-FA); until (21st post-natal day) and post-natal to filtered air until adulthood (PND21); pre-natal to filtered air until PND21 and post-natal to nonfiltered air until adulthood (FA-NFA); pre and post-natal to nonfiltered air (NFA). After 150 days of air pollution exposure, animals were tested in the spontaneous object recognition test to evaluate short-term discriminative and habituation memories. Rats were euthanized; blood was collected for metal determination; cortex dissected for oxidative stress evaluation. There was a significant increase in malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in the NFA group when compared to other groups (FA: 1.730 +/- 0.217; NFA-FA: 1.101 +/- 0.217; FA-NFA: 1.014 +/- 0.300; NFA: 5.978 +/- 1.920 nmol MDA/mg total proteins; p = 0.007). NFA group presented a significant decrease in short-term discriminative (FA: 0.603 +/- 0.106; NFA-FA: 0.669 +/- 0.0666; FA-NFA: 0.374 +/- 0.178; NFA: -0.00631 +/- 0.106 sec; p = 0.006) and an improvement in habituation memories when compared to other groups. Therefore, exposure to air pollution during both those periods impairs short-term discriminative memory and cortical oxidative stress may mediate this process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana C T Zanchi
- Laboratory of Experimental Air Pollution. Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
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Patel H, Eo S, Kwon S. Effects of diesel particulate matters on inflammatory responses in static and dynamic culture of human alveolar epithelial cells. Toxicol Lett 2010; 200:124-31. [PMID: 21094226 DOI: 10.1016/j.toxlet.2010.11.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2010] [Revised: 11/10/2010] [Accepted: 11/11/2010] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Diesel particulate matter (DPM) possesses the potential to induce acute and chronic health issues upon occupational and daily exposure. Many recent studies have focused on understanding molecular mechanisms to depict DPM's side effects inside the lung using static in vitro cell culture models. These studies have provided abundant fundamental information on DPM's adverse effects on cellular responses, but these systems were limited by the absence of dynamic nature to access relevant cellular responses and functionality. We hypothesized that the exposure of DPM under dynamic environment may affect the levels of cellular inflammation and reactive oxygen species, which may be different from those under static environments. In this study, we used the dynamic cell growth condition to mimic mechanically dynamic environment similar to the normal breathing in vivo. We also used high (20, 10, and 5 ppm) and low (3, 1, 0.1, and 0.01 ppm) ranges of DPM exposure to mimic different levels of exposure, respectively. Following 24-, 48-, and 72-h exposure of DPM, Interleukin-8 (IL-8), C-reactive protein (CRP), reactive oxygen species (ROS), and total amount of protein were analyzed. Our results demonstrated the distinct differences in the profiles of inflammatory mediators (IL-8, CRP, and ROS) between the static and dynamic cell growth conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hemang Patel
- Department of Biological Engineering, Utah State University, 4105 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322-4105, USA
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Palko HA, Fung JY, Louie AY. Positron emission tomography: A novel technique for investigating the biodistribution and transport of nanoparticles. Inhal Toxicol 2010; 22:657-88. [DOI: 10.3109/08958371003713745] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
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Mazzoli-Rocha F, Fernandes S, Einicker-Lamas M, Zin WA. Roles of oxidative stress in signaling and inflammation induced by particulate matter. Cell Biol Toxicol 2010; 26:481-98. [PMID: 20340042 DOI: 10.1007/s10565-010-9158-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 111] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2009] [Accepted: 03/01/2010] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
This review reports the role of oxidative stress in impairing the function of lung exposed to particulate matter (PM). PM constitutes a heterogeneous mixture of various types of particles, many of which are likely to be involved in oxidative stress induction and respiratory diseases. Probably, the ability of PM to cause oxidative stress underlies the association between increased exposure to PM and exacerbations of lung disease. Mostly because of their large surface area, ultrafine particles have been shown to cause oxidative stress and proinflammatory effects in different in vivo and in vitro studies. Particle components and surface area may act synergistically inducing lung inflammation. In this vein, reactive oxygen species elicited upon PM exposure have been shown to activate a number of redox-responsive signaling pathways and Ca(2+) influx in lung target cells that are involved in the expression of genes that modulate relevant responses to lung inflammation and disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Flavia Mazzoli-Rocha
- Laboratório de Fisiologia da Respiração, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
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Mariani RL, Jorge MPM, Pereira SS, Melione LP, Carvalho-Oliveira R, Ma TH, Saldiva PHN. Association between micronuclei frequency in pollen mother cells of Tradescantia and mortality due to cancer and cardiovascular diseases: a preliminary study in Sao José dos Campos, Brazil. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2009; 157:1767-1770. [PMID: 19303678 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2009.02.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2008] [Revised: 01/30/2009] [Accepted: 02/08/2009] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
The present study was designed to explore the correlation between the frequency of micronuclei in Trad-MN, measured across 28 biomonitoring stations during the period comprised between 11 of May and 2 of October, 2006, and adjusted mortality rates due to cardiovascular, respiratory diseases and cancer in Sao José dos Campos, Brazil, an area with different sources of air pollution. For controlling purposes, mortality rate due to gastrointestinal diseases (an event less prone to be affected by air pollution) was also considered in the analysis. Spatial distribution of micronuclei frequency was determined using average interpolation. The association between health estimators and micronuclei frequency was determined by measures of Pearson's correlation. Higher frequencies of micronuclei were detected in areas with high traffic and close to a petrochemical pole. Significant associations were detected between micronuclei frequency and adjusted mortality rate due to cardiovascular diseases (r=0.841, p=0.036) and cancer (r=0.890, p=0.018). The association between mortality due to chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases was positive but did not reach statistical significance (r=0.640, p=0.172), probably because of the small number of events. Gastrointestinal mortality did not exhibit significant association with micronuclei frequency. Because the small number of observations and the nature of an ecological study, the present findings must be considered with caution and considered as preliminary. Further studies, performed in different conditions of contamination and climate should be done before considering Trad-MN in the evaluation of human health risk imposed by air pollutants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rauda Lúcia Mariani
- Department of Geochemistry, Fluminense Federal University, Niteroi, RJ, Brazil
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Sun Y, Heng BH, Seow YT, Seow E. Forecasting daily attendances at an emergency department to aid resource planning. BMC Emerg Med 2009; 9:1. [PMID: 19178716 PMCID: PMC2640341 DOI: 10.1186/1471-227x-9-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2008] [Accepted: 01/29/2009] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Accurate forecasting of emergency department (ED) attendances can be a valuable tool for micro and macro level planning. Methods Data for analysis was the counts of daily patient attendances at the ED of an acute care regional general hospital from July 2005 to Mar 2008. Patients were stratified into three acuity categories; i.e. P1, P2 and P3, with P1 being the most acute and P3 being the least acute. The autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) method was separately applied to each of the three acuity categories and total patient attendances. Independent variables included in the model were public holiday (yes or no), ambient air quality measured by pollution standard index (PSI), daily ambient average temperature and daily relative humidity. The seasonal components of weekly and yearly periodicities in the time series of daily attendances were also studied. Univariate analysis by t-tests and multivariate time series analysis were carried out in SPSS version 15. Results By time series analyses, P1 attendances did not show any weekly or yearly periodicity and was only predicted by ambient air quality of PSI > 50. P2 and total attendances showed weekly periodicities, and were also significantly predicted by public holiday. P3 attendances were significantly correlated with day of the week, month of the year, public holiday, and ambient air quality of PSI > 50. After applying the developed models to validate the forecast, the MAPE of prediction by the models were 16.8%, 6.7%, 8.6% and 4.8% for P1, P2, P3 and total attendances, respectively. The models were able to account for most of the significant autocorrelations present in the data. Conclusion Time series analysis has been shown to provide a useful, readily available tool for predicting emergency department workload that can be used to plan staff roster and resource planning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Sun
- Health Services & Outcomes Research, National Healthcare Group, Commonwealth Lane, Singapore.
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Prajapati SK, Tripathi BD. Assessing the genotoxicity of urban air pollutants in Varanasi City using Tradescantia micronucleus (Trad-MCN) bioassay. ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL 2008; 34:1092-1096. [PMID: 18455797 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2008.03.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2007] [Revised: 03/13/2008] [Accepted: 03/17/2008] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
In the present study Tradescantia micronucleus (Trad-MCN) bioassay was performed to assess the genotoxicity of air pollutants in Varanasi City. The experiment was performed during October 2006 to April 2007. For Tradescantia micronucleus (Trad-MCN) bioassay four sites were selected, three in the city having different traffic characteristics and one control site virtually free from traffic intervention. Twenty young Tradescantia pallida inflorescences were collected from each sampling site during the study period and micronuclei frequencies were determined in early tetrads of pollen mother cells and expressed as MCN/100 tetrads. During the same period the concentration of different air pollutants were also measured. Tradescantia micronucleus (Trad-MCN) bioassay showed that the plants kept in areas having higher traffic emissions evidence higher micronuclei frequencies than samples kept at control site. The study indicates that in situ biomonitoring using higher plants may be useful for characterizing genotoxic air pollutants in areas even without any sophisticated instrument.
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Affiliation(s)
- Santosh Kumar Prajapati
- Pollution Ecology Research Laboratory, Centre of Advanced Study in Botany, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India
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Kim CS, Jaques PA. Total Lung Deposition of Ultrafine Particles in Elderly Subjects During Controlled Breathing. Inhal Toxicol 2008; 17:387-99. [PMID: 16020035 DOI: 10.1080/08958370590929493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Ultrafine particulate matter (PM) in the air may be harmful to health, particularly in elderly subjects. From the dosimetry point of view, it is not known if the elderly subjects are more susceptible to exposure to ultrafine PM. We measured the total deposition fraction (TDF) of ultrafine PM (NMD = 0.04-0.1 microm in number median diameter) in the lungs of healthy, elderly subjects (age = 69 +/- 5 yr) and compared the results with those obtained from young adults (age = 31 +/- 4 yr) in an earlier study. Subjects inhaled the aerosols with six different breathing patterns: three different tidal volumes (V(t) = 500, 750, and 1000 ml) and two flow rates (Q) for each V(t). TDF was measured breath by breath in situ by measuring aerosol concentrations on inhalation and exhalation using an ultrafine condensation particle counter. Mean TDF (+/-SD) of the elderly subjects was 0.43 +/- 0.03, 0.36 +/- 0.04, 0.31 +/- 0.03, and 0.27 +/- 0.02 for NMD = 0.04, 0.06, 0.08, and 0.1 microm, respectively, for V(t) = 500 ml and Q = 250 ml/s. These and all other results were very similar to those of young adults. The results suggest that healthy, elderly subjects are not subjected to a greater respiratory dose of ultrafine PM than young adults under the same exposure conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chong S Kim
- National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711, USA.
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Steerenberg PA, van Dalen WJ, Withagen CET, Dormans JAMA, van Loveren H. Optimization of Route of Administration for Coexposure to Ovalbumin and Particle Matter to Induce Adjuvant Activity in Respiratory Allergy in the Mouse. Inhal Toxicol 2008; 15:1309-25. [PMID: 14569495 DOI: 10.1080/08958370390241786] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Epidemiological and experimental studies have not only shown that air pollution induces increased pulmonary morbidity, and mortality, but also that air pollution components may potentiate allergic responses. The respiratory allergy model to ovalbumin in the mouse has been shown a useful tool to characterize the adjuvant potency of air pollution components. However, the choice for the most effective route of administration for testing small amounts of air pollution component is hampered by the diversity of routes of administration used. To test the adjuvant activity of airborne particles (Ottawa dust EHC-93), we studied the optimal route of respiratory administration: intranasally (in) and aerosol (aero) in comparison with responses observed by intraperitoneal (ip) with diesel exhaust particles (DEP) as a positive control. Our results show that the combination of in/aero with ovalbumin caused almost similar immunoglobulin (Ig)E and inflammatory responses compared to the ip/aero. In/in application induced less responses for IgE, less inflammation in the lung, and less increased numbers of eosinophils in the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL). This response increased dramatically when ovalbumin was coadministered with DEP. Subsequently, EHC-93, which is made up of airborne particles, was tested via the in/in route of administration. EHC-93 induced similar IgE responses, inflammation, and eosinophilic response in BAL compared to DEP. In addition, EHC-93 increased the airway responsiveness of the ovalbumin-sensitized mice measured in unrestrained condition and not in nonsensitized control mice. It is concluded that intranasal sensitization with intranasal challenge with airborne particles (EHC-93) is an effective route of administration to show potency of adjuvant activity of airborne particles.
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Affiliation(s)
- P A Steerenberg
- Laboratory for Toxicology, Pathology, and Genetics, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
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Zanchi AC, Venturini CD, Saiki M, Nascimento Saldiva PH, Tannhauser Barros HM, Rhoden CR. Chronic nasal instillation of residual-oil fly ash (ROFA) induces brain lipid peroxidation and behavioral changes in rats. Inhal Toxicol 2008; 20:795-800. [PMID: 18645718 DOI: 10.1080/08958370802009060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Several epidemiological studies have linked particulate matter exposure to numerous adverse health effects on the respiratory, cardiovascular, and reproductive systems (Braga et al., 1999; Zanobetti et al., 2000; Anderson et al., 2001; Farhat et al., 2005). More recently, ambient levels of black carbon were associated to impaired cognitive function in children (Suglia et al., 2008), suggesting that the central nervous system (CNS) may be a target of air pollutants. The present study was conducted to (a) determine whether chronic residual oil fly ash (ROFA) exposure promotes behavioral changes and lipid peroxidation in rat brain areas, and (b) determine whether N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a general antioxidant, prevents these effects. Forty-five-day-old male Wistar rats were exposed or not to ROFA by intranasal instillation and were treated or not with NAC (150 mg/kg) ip for 30 days. One day later, rats were submitted to the open field test to evaluate the motor/exploratory activities and emotionality followed by decapitation. Striatum and cerebellum were dissected to determine lipid peroxidation by the accumulation of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS). ROFA instillation induced an increase in lipid peroxidation level in striatum (p = .033) and cerebellum (p = .030), as compared with the control group. NAC treatment blocked these changes. ROFA promoted a decrease in the frequency of peripheral walking (p = .006) and a decrease in exploration (p = .001), which were not blocked by N-acetylcysteine. The present study provides evidence that toxic particles, administered by the respiratory route, induce oxidative stress in structures of the central nervous system, as well as behavioral alterations. The administration of NAC reduces lipid peroxidation at the striatum and cerebellum levels, but does not influence behavioral disturbances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Claudia Zanchi
- Post-Graduation Course in Medical Sciences and Laboratory of Oxidative Stress and Atmospheric Pollution, Fundação Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Brazil
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Bell ML, Davis DL, Cifuentes LA, Krupnick AJ, Morgenstern RD, Thurston GD. Ancillary human health benefits of improved air quality resulting from climate change mitigation. Environ Health 2008; 7:41. [PMID: 18671873 PMCID: PMC2519068 DOI: 10.1186/1476-069x-7-41] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2008] [Accepted: 07/31/2008] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation policies can provide ancillary benefits in terms of short-term improvements in air quality and associated health benefits. Several studies have analyzed the ancillary impacts of GHG policies for a variety of locations, pollutants, and policies. In this paper we review the existing evidence on ancillary health benefits relating to air pollution from various GHG strategies and provide a framework for such analysis. METHODS We evaluate techniques used in different stages of such research for estimation of: (1) changes in air pollutant concentrations; (2) avoided adverse health endpoints; and (3) economic valuation of health consequences. The limitations and merits of various methods are examined. Finally, we conclude with recommendations for ancillary benefits analysis and related research gaps in the relevant disciplines. RESULTS We found that to date most assessments have focused their analysis more heavily on one aspect of the framework (e.g., economic analysis). While a wide range of methods was applied to various policies and regions, results from multiple studies provide strong evidence that the short-term public health and economic benefits of ancillary benefits related to GHG mitigation strategies are substantial. Further, results of these analyses are likely to be underestimates because there are a number of important unquantified health and economic endpoints. CONCLUSION Remaining challenges include integrating the understanding of the relative toxicity of particulate matter by components or sources, developing better estimates of public health and environmental impacts on selected sub-populations, and devising new methods for evaluating heretofore unquantified and non-monetized benefits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle L Bell
- School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - Devra L Davis
- Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, CNPAV 435, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - Luis A Cifuentes
- Industrial and Systems Engineering Department, P. Catholic University of Chile, Engineering School, Santiago, Chile
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Miraglia SGEK. Health, environmental, and economic costs from the use of a stabilized diesel/ethanol mixture in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. CAD SAUDE PUBLICA 2008; 23 Suppl 4:S559-69. [PMID: 18038037 DOI: 10.1590/s0102-311x2007001600016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2006] [Accepted: 04/04/2007] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
In Greater Metropolitan São Paulo, Brazil, fossil fuel combustion in the transportation system is a major cause of outdoor air pollution. Air quality improvement requires additional policies and technological upgrades in fuels and vehicle engines. The current study thus simulated the environmental and social impacts resulting from the use of a stabilized diesel/ethanol mixture in the bus and truck fleet in Greater Metropolitan São Paulo. The evaluation showed reductions in air pollutants, mainly PM10, which would help avert a number of disease events and deaths, as estimated through dose-response functions of epidemiological studies on respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Valuation of the impacts using an environmental cost-benefit analysis considered operational installation, job generation, potential carbon credits, and health costs, with an overall positive balance of US$ 2.851 million. Adding the estimated qualitative benefits to the quantitative ones, the project's benefits far outweigh the measured costs. Greater Metropolitan São Paulo would benefit from any form of biodiesel use, producing environmental, health and socioeconomic gains, the three pillars of sustainability.
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Novaes P, do Nascimento Saldiva PH, Kara-José N, Macchione M, Matsuda M, Racca L, Berra A. Ambient levels of air pollution induce goblet-cell hyperplasia in human conjunctival epithelium. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PERSPECTIVES 2007; 115:1753-6. [PMID: 18087595 PMCID: PMC2137119 DOI: 10.1289/ehp.10363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2007] [Accepted: 09/13/2007] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Ocular mucosa is exposed constantly to the external environment, and chronic exposure to air pollution may affect the ocular surface. OBJECTIVE We assessed the effect of air pollution on the ocular surface by combining determinations of individual exposure and conjunctival impression cytology. METHODS A panel study was conducted with 29 volunteers recruited in two locations with different pollution levels: São Paulo (n = 13) and Divinolândia (n = 16). We assessed mean individual levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) exposure for 7 days, using a passive sampler. Impression cytology samples were obtained from inferior tarsal conjunctiva. Comparisons between the two groups in terms of NO2 exposure and goblet-cell counts were performed using the Student t-test. Correlations between goblet-cells counts and corresponding individual NO2 exposure levels were determined using Spearman's correlation. RESULTS Individuals living in São Paulo received a significantly (p = 0.005) higher dose of NO2 (mean 32.47; SD 9.83) than those living in Divinolândia (mean 19.33; SD 5.24). There was a steady increase in goblet-cell counts, proportional to NO2 exposure (Spearman's correlation = 0.566, p = 0.001), with a dose-response pattern. CONCLUSIONS A positive and significant association between exposure to air pollution and goblet-cell hyperplasia in human conjunctiva was detected. The combination of simple measurements of exposure and impression cytology was an effective and noninvasive approach for characterizing human response to ambient levels of air pollution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Priscila Novaes
- Laboratório de Investigação em Oftalmologia, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brasil.
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Cançado JED, Braga A, Pereira LAA, Arbex MA, Saldiva PHN, Santos UDP. [Clinical repercussions of exposure to atmospheric pollution]. J Bras Pneumol 2007; 32 Suppl 2:S5-11. [PMID: 17273599 DOI: 10.1590/s1806-37132006000800003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Atmospheric pollution is a topic of extensive discussion the world over. The clinical repercussions of exposure to the principal atmospheric pollutants are summarized herein. According to the American Environmental Protection Agency, air quality standards for these agents are set based on their primary and half-life values. The respiratory effects of the burning of fossil fuels and biomass are succinctly presented, with a special focus on alerting health care professionals of the increased morbidity related to environmental pollution.
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Pereira CEL, Heck TG, Saldiva PHN, Rhoden CR. Ambient particulate air pollution from vehicles promotes lipid peroxidation and inflammatory responses in rat lung. Braz J Med Biol Res 2007; 40:1353-9. [PMID: 17713644 DOI: 10.1590/s0100-879x2006005000164] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2006] [Accepted: 06/25/2007] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Oxidative stress plays a major role in the pathogenesis of particle-dependent lung injury. Ambient particle levels from vehicles have not been previously shown to cause oxidative stress to the lungs. The present study was conducted to a) determine whether short-term exposure to ambient levels of particulate air pollution from vehicles elicits inflammatory responses and lipid peroxidation in rat lungs, and b) determine if intermittent short-term exposures (every 4 days) induce some degree of tolerance. Three-month-old male Wistar rats were exposed to ambient particulate matter (PM) from vehicles (N = 30) for 6 or 20 continuous hours, or for intermittent (5 h) periods during 20 h for 4 consecutive days or to filtered air (PM <10 microm; N = 30). Rats continuously breathing polluted air for 20 h (P-20) showed a significant increase in the total number of leukocytes in bronchoalveolar lavage compared to control (C-20: 2.61 x 105 +/- 0.51;P-20: 5.01 x 105 +/- 0.81; P < 0.05) and in lipid peroxidation ([MDA] nmol/mg protein: C-20: 0.148 +/- 0.01; P-20: 0.226 +/- 0.02; P < 0.05). Shorter exposure (6 h) and intermittent 5-h exposures over a period of 4 days did not cause significant changes in leukocytes. Lipid damage resulting from 20-h exposure to particulate air pollution did not cause a significant increase in lung water content. These data suggest oxidative stress as one of the mechanisms responsible for the acute adverse respiratory effects of particles, and suggest that short-term inhalation of ambient particulate air pollution from street with high automobile traffic represents a biological hazard.
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Affiliation(s)
- C E L Pereira
- Curso de Pós-graduação em Ciências Médicas e Laboratório de Estresse Oxidativo e Poluição Atmosférica, Fundação Faculdade Federal de Ciências Médicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil
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Chen TM, Gokhale J, Shofer S, Kuschner WG. Outdoor Air Pollution: Nitrogen Dioxide, Sulfur Dioxide, and Carbon Monoxide Health Effects. Am J Med Sci 2007; 333:249-56. [PMID: 17435420 DOI: 10.1097/maj.0b013e31803b900f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 228] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and carbon monoxide are important ambient air pollutants. High-intensity, confined space exposure to NO2 has caused catastrophic injury to humans, including death. Ambient NO2 exposure may increase the risk of respiratory tract infections through the pollutant's interaction with the immune system. Sulfur dioxide (SO2) contributes to respiratory symptoms in both healthy patients and those with underlying pulmonary disease. Controlled human exposure studies have demonstrated that experimental SO2 exposure causes changes in airway physiology, including increased airways resistance. Both acute and chronic exposure to carbon monoxide are associated with increased risk for adverse cardiopulmonary events, including death. However, studies have not demonstrated a clear dose-dependent health risk response to increasing amounts of these pollutants except at high concentrations. In addition, a number of studies examining the effects of ambient level exposure to NO2, SO2, and CO have failed to find associations with adverse health outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tze-Ming Chen
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
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50
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Kajekar R. Environmental factors and developmental outcomes in the lung. Pharmacol Ther 2007; 114:129-45. [PMID: 17408750 DOI: 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2007.01.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 108] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2007] [Accepted: 01/12/2007] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The developing lung is highly susceptible to damage from exposure to environmental toxicants particularly due to the protracted maturation of the respiratory system, extending from the embryonic phase of development in utero through to adolescence. The functional organization of the lungs requires a coordinated ontogeny of critical developmental processes that include branching morphogenesis, cellular differentiation and proliferation, alveolarization, and maturation of the pulmonary immune, vasculature, and neural systems. Therefore, exposure to environmental pollutants during crucial periods of prenatal and/or postnatal development may determine the course of lung morphogenesis and maturation. Depending on the timing of exposure and pathobiological response of the affected tissue, exposure to environmental pollutants can potentially result in long-term alterations that affect the structure and function of the respiratory system. Besides an immature respiratory system at birth, children possess unique differences in their physiology and behavioral characteristics compared to adults that are believed to augment the vulnerability of their developing lungs to perturbations by environmental toxins. Furthermore, an interaction between genetic predisposition and increased opportunity for exposure to chemical and infectious disease increase the hazards and risks for infants and children. In this article, the evidence for perturbations of lung developmental processes by key ambient pollutants (environmental tobacco smoke [ETS], ozone, and particulate matter [PM]) are discussed in terms of biological factors that are intrinsic to infants and children and that influence exposure-related lung development and respiratory outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Radhika Kajekar
- Immunobiology, Centocor, 145 King of Prussia Road, Radnor, PA 19087, USA.
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