| 1. |
|
|
| 2. |
|
|
| 3. |
|
|
| 4. |
- Bedada, G. B., et al.
(författare)
-
Urban background particulate matter and allergic sensitization in adults of ECRHS II
- 2007
-
Ingår i: Int J Hyg Environ Health. - : Elsevier BV. - 1438-4639. ; 210:6, s. 691-700
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Epidemiological studies have shown weak or inconsistent associations between ambient air pollutants and allergic sensitization. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether regional urban air pollution may partly explain the large variation in the prevalence of allergic sensitization across cities of the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) II. METHODS: ECRHS is a cross-sectional survey initiated in 29 countries across Europe in the 1990s (ECRHS I) with a follow-up conducted 10 years later (ECRHS II). Subject characteristics were measured by questionnaires and blood tests conducted for the measurement of specific immunoglobulin E. Fine particle mass (PM(2.5), <2.5mum) and sulphur on PM(2.5) were measured in 21 centres and annual averages of urban regional background air pollution were calculated. Results were scaled by an interquartile range increase in ambient PM(2.5) (6.03mug/m(3)) and sulphur (1336ng/m(3)). Generalized estimating equations were applied to compute population average effect estimates with adjustment for age, gender, smoking habit, education and number of siblings. RESULTS: A notable variation in pollution level and prevalence of allergic sensitization was observed. Moreover, exposure to urban regional background air pollution was not associated with allergic sensitization; adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence interval were 1.02 (0.95-1.09) for PM(2.5) and 1.08 (0.86-1.31) for sulphur. These statistically non-significant associations were sensitive to model specification. CONCLUSIONS: The study suggests that regional air pollution measured at fixed sites is not associated with allergic sensitization among adults in ECRHS II.
|
|
| 5. |
|
|
| 6. |
- Cerveri, I, et al.
(författare)
-
What defines airflow obstruction in asthma?
- 2009
-
Ingår i: European Respiratory Journal. - : European Respiratory Society (ERS). - 0903-1936 .- 1399-3003. ; 34:3, s. 568-573
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Asthma guidelines from the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) and from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute provide conflicting definitions of airflow obstruction, suggesting a fixed forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV(1))/forced vital capacity (FVC) cut-off point and the lower limit of normality (LLN), respectively. The LLN was recommended by the recent American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society guidelines on lung function testing. The problem in using fixed cut-off points is that they are set regardless of age and sex in an attempt to simplify diagnosis at the expense of misclassification. The sensitivity and specificity of fixed FEV(1)/FVC ratios of 0.70, 0.75 and 0.80 versus the LLN were evaluated in 815 subjects (aged 20-44 yrs) with a diagnosis of asthma within the framework of the European Community Respiratory Health Survey. In males, the 0.70 ratio showed 76.5% sensitivity and 100.0% specificity, the 0.75 ratio 100.0% sensitivity and 92.4% specificity, and the 0.80 ratio 100.0% sensitivity but 58.1% specificity. In females, the 0.70 ratio showed 57.3% sensitivity and 100.0% specificity, the 0.75 ratio 91.5% sensitivity and 95.9% specificity, and the 0.80 ratio 100.0% sensitivity but 72.9% specificity. The fixed cut-off points cause a lot of misidentification of airflow obstruction in young adults, with overestimation with the 0.80 ratio and underestimation with the 0.70 ratio. In conclusion, the GINA guidelines should change their criteria for defining airflow obstruction.
|
|
| 7. |
- Chinn, S., et al.
(författare)
-
Incidence of asthma and net change in symptoms in relation to changes in obesity
- 2006
-
Ingår i: European Respiratory Journal. - : European Respiratory Society (ERS). - 0903-1936 .- 1399-3003. ; 28:4, s. 763-771
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The incidence of asthma has been reported to be associated with obesity. An alternative analysis, of net change in prevalence, does not require exclusion of those with asthma at baseline. Follow-up data were obtained from 9,552 participants in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey and the Swiss cohort Study on Air Pollution and Lung Disease in Adults. Incidence of asthma was analysed by proportional hazards regression, and net changes in symptoms and asthma status by generalised estimating equations, by obesity group. Incidence and net change in ever having had asthma were greater in females than in males, and in participants who remained obese compared with those who were never obese (hazard ratio 2.00, 95% confidence interval 1.25-3.20; excess net change 2.8%, 0.4-5.3% per 10 yrs). The effect of being obese on net change in diagnosed asthma was greater in females than in males, but for net change in wheeze without a cold it was greater in males. The present results are consistent with asthma being more frequently diagnosed in females, especially obese females. These findings may help to explain the reports of a stronger association between asthma and obesity in females than in males.
|
|
| 8. |
|
|
| 9. |
|
|
| 10. |
- Hazenkamp-Von Arx, M.E., et al.
(författare)
-
PM2.5 and NO2 assessment in 21 European study centres of ECRHS II : annual means and seasonal differences
- 2004
-
Ingår i: Atmospheric Environment. - : Elsevier. - 1352-2310 .- 1873-2844. ; 38:13, s. 1943-1953
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The follow-up of cohorts of adults from more than 20 European centres of the former ECRHS I (1989-1992) investigates long-term effects of exposure to ambient air pollution on respiratory health, in particular asthma and change of pulmonary function. Since PM2.5 is not routinely monitored in Europe, we measured PM2.5 concentrations in 21 participating centres to estimate 'background' exposure in these cities. Winter (November-February), summer (May-August) and annual mean (all months) values of PM2.5 were determined from measuring periods between June 2000 and November 2001. Sampling was conducted for 7 days per month for a year. Annual and winter mean concentrations of PM2.5 vary substantially being lowest in Iceland and highest in centres in Northern Italy. Annual mean concentrations ranged from 3.7 to 44.9 mug m(-3), winter mean concentrations from 4.8 to 69.2 mug m(-3), and summer mean concentrations from 3.3 to 23.1 mugm(-3). Seasonal variability occurred but did not follow the same pattern across all centres. Therefore, ranking of centres varied from summer to winter. Simultaneously, NO2 concentrations were measured using passive sampling tubes. Annual mean NO2 concentrations range from 4.9 to 72.1 mug m(-3) with similar seasonal variations across centres and constant ranking of centres between seasons. The correlation between annual NO2 and PM2.5 concentrations is fair (Spearman correlation coefficient r(s) = 0.75), but when considered as monthly means the correlation is far less consistent and varies substantially between centres. The range of PM2.5 mass concentrations obtained in ECRHS II is larger than in other current cohort studies on long-term effects of air pollution. This substantial variation in PM2.5 exposure will improve statistical power in future multilevel health analyses and to some degree may compensate for the lack of information on within-city variability. Seasonal means may be used to indicate potential differences in the toxicity across the year. Across ECRHS cities annual NO2 might serve as a surrogate for PM2.5, especially for past exposure assessment, when PM2.5 is not available.
|
|
| 11. |
|
|
| 12. |
- Jacquemin, B., et al.
(författare)
-
Annoyance due to air pollution in Europe
- 2007
-
Ingår i: Int J Epidemiol. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0300-5771 .- 1464-3685. ; 36:4, s. 809-20
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Annoyance due to air pollution is a subjective score of air quality, which has been incorporated into the National Environmental monitoring of some countries. The objectives of this study are to describe the variations in annoyance due to air pollution in Europe and its individual and environmental determinants. METHODS: This study took place in the context of the European Community Respiratory Health Survey II (ECRHS II) that was conducted during 1999-2001. It included 25 centres in 12 countries and 7867 randomly selected adults from the general population. Annoyance due to air pollution was self-reported on an 11-point scale. Annual mean mass concentration of fine particles (PM(2.5)) and its sulphur (S) content were measured in 21 centres as a surrogate of urban air pollution. RESULTS: Forty-three per cent of participants reported moderate annoyance (1-5 on the scale) and 14% high annoyance (>/=6) with large differences across centres (2-40% of high annoyance). Participants in the Northern European countries reported less annoyance. Female gender, nocturnal dyspnoea, phlegm and rhinitis, self-reported car and heavy vehicle traffic in front of the home, high education, non-smoking and exposure to environmental tobacco smoke were associated with higher annoyance levels. At the centre level, adjusted means of annoyance scores were moderately associated with sulphur urban levels (slope 1.43 mug m(-3), standard error 0.40, r = 0.61). CONCLUSIONS: Annoyance due to air pollution is frequent in Europe. Individuals' annoyance may be a useful measure of perceived ambient quality and could be considered a complementary tool for health surveillance.
|
|
| 13. |
- Jacquemin, B, et al.
(författare)
-
Association between annoyance and individuals' values of nitrogen dioxide in a European setting.
- 2008
-
Ingår i: Journal of epidemiology and community health. - 1470-2738. ; 62:5, s. e12-
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- INTRODUCTION: Annoyance caused by air pollution has been proposed as an indicator of exposure to air pollution. The aim of this study was to assess the geographical homogeneity of the relationship between annoyance and modelled home-based nitrogen dioxide (NO2) measurements. METHODS: The European Community Respiratory Health Survey II was conducted in 2000-1, in 25 European centres in 12 countries. This analysis included 4753 subjects (from 37 in Tartu, Estonia, to 532 in Antwerp, Belgium) who answered the annoyance question and with available outdoor residential NO2 (4399 modelled and 354 measured) including 20 cities from 10 countries. Annoyance as a result of air pollution was self-reported on an 11-point scale (0, no disturbance at all; 10, intolerable disturbance). Demographic and socioeconomic factors, smoking status and the presence of respiratory symptoms or disease were measured through a standard questionnaire. Negative binomial regression was used. RESULTS: The median NO2 concentration was 27 microg.m(-3) (from 10 in Umeå, Sweden, to 57 in Barcelona, Spain). The mean of annoyance was 2.5 (from 0.7 in Reykjavik, Iceland, to 4.4 in Huelva, Spain). NO2 was associated with annoyance (ratio of the mean score 1.26 per 10 microg.m(-3), 95% CI 1.19 to 1.34). The association between NO2 and annoyance was heterogeneous among cities (p for heterogeneity <0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Annoyance is associated with home outdoor air pollution but with a different strength by city. This indicates that annoyance is not a valid surrogate for air pollution exposure. Nevertheless, it may be a useful measure of perceived ambient air quality and could be considered a complementary tool for health surveillance.
|
|
| 14. |
- Jacquemin, B, et al.
(författare)
-
Association between modelled traffic related air pollution (NO2) and asthma score in ECHRS.
- 2009
-
Ingår i: European Respiratory Journal. - : The European Respiratory Society. - 0903-1936 .- 1399-3003. ; 34:4, s. 834-842
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of this analysis is to study the association between air pollution and asthma among adults. For this goal, a previously developed "asthma score" was used.Persons aged 25-44 years were randomly selected (1991-1993) and followed up (2000-2002) within the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS-I and II). The asthma score was defined from 0 to 5, based on positive answers to symptoms reported for the last 12 months: wheeze/breathlessness, chest tightness, dyspnoea at rest, dyspnoea after exercise, and woken by dyspnoea. Participants' home addresses were linked to outdoor modelled NO2 estimates for 2001. Negative binomial regression was used to model the asthma score.The score from ECRHS-II was positively associated with NO2 (Ratio of the Mean asthma Score (RMS) 1.23, 95% Confidence Intervals (CI): 1.09-1.38 for an increase of 10 microg.m(-3)). After excluding participants with asthma and symptoms at baseline, the association remained (RMS 1.25, 95%CI: 1.05-1.51) and was particularly high among those reporting a high score in ECRHS-II. The latter probably reflects incident cases of asthma.Our results suggest that traffic-related pollution causes asthma symptoms and possibly asthma incidence in adults. The asthma score offers an alternative to investigate the course and aetiology of asthma in adults.
|
|
| 15. |
|
|
| 16. |
|
|
| 17. |
|
|
| 18. |
- Norbäck, Dan, et al.
(författare)
-
Building dampness and mold in European homes in relation to climate, building characteristics and socio-economic status : The European Community Respiratory Health Survey ECRHS II
- 2017
-
Ingår i: Indoor Air. - : Hindawi Limited. - 0905-6947 .- 1600-0668. ; 27:5, s. 921-932
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We studied dampness and mold in homes in relation to climate, building characteristics and socio-economic status (SES) across Europe, for 7127 homes in 22 centers. A subsample of 3118 homes was inspected. Multilevel analysis was applied, including age, gender, center, SES, climate, and building factors. Self-reported water damage (10%), damp spots (21%), and mold (16%) in past year were similar as observed data (19% dampness and 14% mold). Ambient temperature was associated with self-reported water damage (OR=1.63 per 10°C; 95% CI 1.02-2.63), damp spots (OR=2.95; 95% CI 1.98-4.39), and mold (OR=2.28; 95% CI 1.04-4.67). Precipitation was associated with water damage (OR=1.12 per 100 mm; 95% CI 1.02-1.23) and damp spots (OR=1.11; 95% CI 1.02-1.20). Ambient relative air humidity was not associated with indoor dampness and mold. Older buildings had more dampness and mold (P<.001). Manual workers reported less water damage (OR=0.69; 95% CI 0.53-0.89) but more mold (OR=1.27; 95% CI 1.03-1.55) as compared to managerial/professional workers. There were correlations between reported and observed data at center level (Spearman rho 0.61 for dampness and 0.73 for mold). In conclusion, high ambient temperature and precipitation and high building age can be risk factors for dampness and mold in homes in Europe.
|
|
| 19. |
|
|
| 20. |
- Sunyer, J., et al.
(författare)
-
Asthma score : predictive ability and risk factors
- 2007
-
Ingår i: Allergy. European Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. - : Wiley. - 0105-4538 .- 1398-9995. ; 62:2, s. 142-148
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Definition of asthma as a continuous score is a promising tool for population studies that has not yet been fully evaluated. Objective: We assessed (i) the predictive ability of an asthma score against the occurrence of different asthma-related outcomes and (ii) the risk factors identified when using an asthma score. Methods: The European Community Respiratory Health Study II included subjects from the general population randomly studied during 1991-1993 who were followed up in the years 1998-2001, from 29 centres in 14 countries. A total of 8956 subjects were included. The asthma score consisted of a simple sum of the positive answers to five respiratory symptoms. Results: Asthma score at baseline showed a linear relationship with incidence of asthma, the occurrence of asthma attacks, use of asthma medication and bronchial reactivity at the end of the follow-up. Asthma score at the end of follow-up was associated with known risk factors at baseline such as IgE to grass, rhinitis or body mass index, in addition to passive smoking in men [average score ratio (RR) = 1.30; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.09-1.50] or changes in body mass index (RR = 1.27; 95% CI 1.05-1.27, per each kg/m2). Conclusion: The asthma score had good predictive ability against outcomes related with asthma and also good ability to detect risk factors. This encourages the use of the score as a measure of asthma in epidemiological studies on aetiology of asthma.
|
|
| 21. |
|
|
| 22. |
- Sunyer, Jordi, et al.
(författare)
-
Lung function decline, chronic bronchitis, and occupational exposures in young adults
- 2005
-
Ingår i: Am J Respir Crit Care Med. ; 172:9
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Rationale: Occupational exposures to vapors, gas, dust, or fumes have been shown to be a risk factor of airway obstruction in cross-sectional studies in the general population.Objectives: Our aim was to study the relationships between specific occupations and occupational exposures during a 9-yr follow-up period and changes in lung function and symptoms of chronic bronchitis.Methods: Subjects from the general population aged 20 to 45 yr were randomly selected in 1991-1993 within the European Community Respiratory Health Survey. Follow-up took place from 1998 to 2002 among 4,079 males and 4,461 females in 27 study centers. A total of 3,202 men and 3,279 women twice completed lung function measurements. Job history during follow-up was linked to a job exposure matrix and consequently translated into cumulative exposure estimates.Main Results: Individuals exposed to dusts, gases, and fumes during the period of follow-up did not have a steeper decline of FEV(1) than did individuals with consistently white-collar occupations without occupational exposures (relative change among men and women, + 1.4 and -3.1 ml/yr, respectively; p > 0.2), nor an increase of prevalence or incidence of airway obstruction defined as an FEV(1)/FVC ratio of less than 0.7. The incidence of chronic phlegm increased in men exposed to mineral dust (relative risk, 1.94 [1.29-2.91]) and gases and fumes (relative risk, 1.53 [0.99-2.36]), which was not modified by smoking.Conclusion: Occupational exposures to dusts, gases, and fumes occurring during the 1990s are associated with incidence of chronic bronchitis, although these did not impair lung function in a population of relatively young age.
|
|
| 23. |
|
|
| 24. |
- Viana, M., et al.
(författare)
-
Source apportionment of ambient PM2.5 at five Spanish centres of the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS II)
- 2007
-
Ingår i: Atmospheric Environment. - : Elsevier BV. - 1352-2310 .- 1873-2844. ; 41:7, s. 1395-1406
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) was sampled at 5 Spanish locations during the European Community Respiratory Health Survey II (ECRHS II). In an attempt to identify and quantify PM2.5 sources, source contribution analysis by principal component analysis (PCA) was performed on five datasets containing elemental composition of PM2.5 analysed by ED-XRF. A total of 4-5 factors were identified at each site, three of them being common to all sites (interpreted as traffic. mineral and secondary aerosols) whereas industrial sources were site-specific. Sea-salt was identified as independent source at all coastal locations except for Barcelona (where it was clustered with secondary aerosols). Despite their typically dominant coarse grain-size distribution, mineral and marine aerosols were clearly observed in PM2.5. Multi-linear regression analysis (MLRA) was applied to the data, showing that traffic was the main source of PM2.5 at the five sites (39-53% of PM2.5, 5.1-12.0 mu g m(-3)), while regional-scale secondary aerosols accounted for 14-34% of PM2.5 (2.6-4.5 mu g m(-3)), mineral matter for 13-31% (2.4-4.6 mu g m(-3)) and sea-salt made up 3-7% of the PM2.5 mass (0.4-1.3 mu g m(-3)). Consequently, despite regional and climatic variability throughout Spain, the same four main PM2.5 emission sources were identified at all the study sites and the differences between the relative contributions of each of these sources varied at most 20%. This would corroborate PM2.5 as a useful parameter for health studies and environmental policy-making, owing to the fact that it is not as subject to the influence of micro-sitting as other parameters such as PM10. African dust inputs were observed in the mineral source, adding on average 4-11 mu g m(-3) to the PM2.5 daily mean during dust outbreaks. On average, levels of Al, Si, Ti and Fe during African episodes were higher by a factor of 2-8 with respect to non-African days, whereas levels of local pollutants (absorption coefficient, S, Pb, Cl) showed smaller variations (factor of 0.5-2).
|
|
| 25. |
|
|
