| 1. |
- Beelen, Rob, et al.
(författare)
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Natural-Cause Mortality and Long-Term Exposure to Particle Components : An Analysis of 19 European Cohorts within the Multi-Center ESCAPE Project
- 2015
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Ingår i: Journal of Environmental Health Perspectives. - : Environmental Health Perspectives. - 0091-6765 .- 1552-9924. ; 123:6, s. 525-533
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Studies have shown associations between mortality and long-term exposure to particulate matter air pollution. Few cohort studies have estimated the effects of the elemental composition of particulate matter on mortality. Objectives: Our aim was to study the association between natural-cause mortality and long-term exposure to elemental components of particulate matter. Methods: Mortality and confounder data from 19 European cohort studies were used. Residential exposure to eight a priori-selected components of particulate matter ( PM) was characterized following a strictly standardized protocol. Annual average concentrations of copper, iron, potassium, nickel, sulfur, silicon, vanadium, and zinc within PM size fractions <= 2.5 mu m (PM2.5) and <= 10 mu m (PM10) were estimated using land-use regression models. Cohort-specific statistical analyses of the associations between mortality and air pollution were conducted using Cox proportional hazards models using a common protocol followed by meta-analysis. Results: The total study population consisted of 291,816 participants, of whom 25,466 died from a natural cause during follow-up (average time of follow-up, 14.3 years). Hazard ratios were positive for almost all elements and statistically significant for PM2.5 sulfur (1.14; 95% CI: 1.06, 1.23 per 200ng/m(3)). In a two-pollutant model, the association with PM2.5 sulfur was robust to adjustment for PM2.5 mass, whereas the association with PM2.5 mass was reduced. Conclusions: Long-term exposure to PM2.5 sulfur was associated with natural-cause mortality. This association was robust to adjustment for other pollutants and PM2.5.
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| 2. |
- Segersson, David, 1978-
(författare)
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Quantification of population exposure and health impacts associated with air pollution
- 2021
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- There is substantial evidence that air pollution, in particular particulate matter (PM), affects our health. The overall objective of this thesis is to understand and quantify population exposure to ambient air pollution and related health impacts. In four included papers, atmospheric dispersion modelling is used to estimate source-specific contributions to pollution levels. Results from the dispersion modelling are evaluated by comparison with available concentration measurements and used to estimate the related health impact. New approaches for health impact assessment are proposed and new methods for exposure assessment are developed. Assessment of health impacts related to different sources of air pollution can be used to identify the most cost-effective abatement strategies. The proposed methods for health impact assessment are applied to evaluate three viable abatement strategies for Stockholm and Gothenburg, the two largest cities in Sweden.The first two papers in the thesis more specifically investigate the importance of using source-specific associations between exposure and premature mortality. One of the main conclusions is that different health risk functions should be applied for near-source and long-range exposure to fine PM. The praxis of today, to use the same linear risk function regardless of source and composition of the PM, most likely underestimates the importance of local sources and may thereby discourage cities from acting to reduce emissions. It is also concluded that a more specific risk function for exposure to coarse PM from road wear would allow for better prioritizations between different abatement measures, especially for countries where studded winter tires are used.Near-source exposure in the urban environment is characterized by strong gradients, requiring a relatively high spatial resolution to capture variations within the population. A new method that allow estimating source-specific exposure with sufficient spatial resolution over large areas and long time periods is presented and applied to create a uniquely detailed NOx exposure assessment for Sweden over three decades.Emissions from road traffic and residential wood combustion (RWC) are found to be the most important contributors to near-source exposure to PM. When three abatement strategies for road traffic are evaluated for Stockholm and Gothenburg, it is shown that a strategy resulting in overall traffic reduction, such as introduction of congestion charges, is a good choice. Reduced use of studded tires is also evaluated, but this measure mainly affects the emissions of coarse PM from road wear, for which health impacts are more uncertain. The on-going electrification of light vehicles also has more uncertain health benefits, at least when studded tires are used, given that the heavier electric vehicles lead to increased emissions of coarse PM from road wear.Improving the description of exposure to PM from RWC is identified as first priority to increase the accuracy in estimates of near-source exposure in Sweden. A comparative study of how this exposure is estimated in the Nordic countries is presented. It is concluded that a more extensive reference dataset with descriptions of emissions and concentration measurements for RWC would be highly valuable for model evaluation and further improvement of model parametrizations.
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| 3. |
- Wang, Meng, et al.
(författare)
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Long-term exposure to elemental constituents of particulate matter and cardiovascular mortality in 19 European cohorts : Results from the ESCAPE and TRANSPHORM projects
- 2014
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Ingår i: Environment International. - : Elsevier BV. - 0160-4120 .- 1873-6750. ; 66, s. 97-106
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Associations between long-term exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM) and cardiovascular (CVD) mortality have been widely recognized. However, health effects of long-term exposure to constituents of PM on total CVD mortality have been explored in a single study only. Aims: The aim of this study was to examine the association of PM composition with cardiovascular mortality. Methods: We used data from 19 European ongoing cohorts within the framework of the ESCAPE (European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects) and TRANSPHORM (Transport related Air Pollution and Health impacts Integrated Methodologies for Assessing Particulate Matter) projects. Residential annual average exposure to elemental constituents within particle matter smaller than 2.5 and 10 pm (PM2.5 and PM10) was estimated using Land Use Regression models. Eight elements representing major sources were selected a priori (copper, iron, potassium, nickel, sulfur, silicon, vanadium and zinc). Cohort-specific analyses were conducted using Cox proportional hazards models with a standardized protocol. Random-effects metaanalysis was used to calculate combined effect estimates. Results: The total population consisted of 322,291 participants, with 9545 CVD deaths. We found no statistically significant associations between any of the elemental constituents in PM2.5 or PM10 and CVD mortality in the pooled analysis. Most of the hazard ratios (HRs) were close to unity, e.g. for PM10 Fe the combined HR was 0.96 (0.84-1.09). Elevated combined HRs were found for PM2.5 Si (1.17, 95% Cl: 0.93-1.47), and S in PM2.5 (1.08,95% Cl: 0.95-1.22) and PM10 (1.09,95% Cl: 0.90-132). Conclusion: In a joint analysis of 19 European cohorts, we found no statistically significant association between long-term exposure to 8 elemental constituents of particles and total cardiovascular mortality.
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