Prenatal exposure to air pollution and the risk of eczema in childhood: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - An increasing number of studies investigated the association between air pollution during pregnancy and the risk of eczema in offspring. However, no...     

Association between ambient temperature and ambulance dispatch: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Previous studies have quantified the associations between ambient temperature and dispatch of ambulances, but the conclusions are still controversial....     

Indoor air pollution from solid fuel on children pneumonia in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis

An updated systematic review was conducted to assessing on the association between indoor air pollution caused by household energy consumption and childhood pneumonia in low- and middle-income countries. We performed a meta-analysis from the electronic databases of PubMed, Cochrane library, Web of Science, EMBASE. Studies were selected when they reported childhood pneumonia or ALRI in relation to indoor air pollution resulted from solid fuel. Studies must provide results on exposure prevalence of children aged below 5 years from Asia or Africa. We devoted ourselves to identifying randomized controlled experiments and observational epidemiological researches, which revealed the relation between household usage of solid fuel and childhood pneumonia. Among 1954 articles, 276 were reviewed thoroughly and 16 conduced to such a meta-analysis. It was found that there is a significant relationship between the solid fuel combustion and increasing risk of childhood pneumonia (OR?=?1.66, 95%CI 1.36–2.02). The summary odds ratios from biomass use and mixed fuel use were, respectively, 1.86 (95%CI 1.15–3.02) and 1.58 (95%CI 1.38–1.81), with substantial between study heterogeneity (I²?=?87.2% and 29.2%, respectively). According to the subgroup analysis along with the meta-regression analysis, the risk of using solid fuel in Asian regions is higher than that in African regions. Studies based on non-hospital participates (I²?=?49.5%) may also a source of heterogeneity. We found that indoor air pollution generated by the usage of solid fuel might be a significant risk factor for pneumonia in children and suggested improving the indoor air quality by promoting cleaner fuel will be important in undeveloped countries.

     

The associations of air pollution exposure during pregnancy with fetal growth and anthropometric measurements at birth: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Fetal growth has been demonstrated to be an important predictor of perinatal and postnatal health. Although the effects of maternal exposure to air...     

The association between air pollution and cancers: controversial evidence of a systematic review

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - There are inconsistent reports on the association between air pollution and cancers. This systematic review was, therefore, conducted to ascertain the...     

Crop growth along a gradient of ambient air pollution

An experiment, designed to elucidate the relative importance of SO2, NO2, O3, and other environmental factors in influencing the performance of four cultivars of Trifolium pratense L. and Hordeum vulgare L., was performed by growing plants in situ along a transect from central London into the surrounding countryside. A multiple regression analysis provided evidence of significant effects of SO2, NO2, and, to a lesser extent, O3, on vegetative and reproductive growth parameters, although these differed according to pollutant, cultivar, species, and the parameter concerned. The significance of these findings for the impact of ambient air pollution on the growth of crops in the more polluted rural areas of western Europe is suggested by the fact that mean SO2, NO2, and O3 concentrations in the experimental area are less than 0.020 (39.2 microg/m3), 0.025 (47.75 microg/m3), and 0.030 ppm (58.8 microg/m3), respectively. The value of the technique is discussed with respect to other studies on the effects of low levels of air pollution on crops.     

Responses of terrestrial arthropods to air pollution: a meta-analysis

Background, aim, and scope  

Arthropods, with over a million species described, are ubiquitous throughout different environments. Knowledge of their responses to human impact is crucial for understanding and predicting changes in ecosystem structure and functions. Our aim was to investigate the general patterns and to identify sources of variation in changes of the diversity, abundance and fitness of terrestrial arthropods (including Arachnida, Collembola and Insecta) in habitats affected by point polluters.     

Pollutants and sperm quality: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Male fertility and semen quality have declined over recent decades. Among other causes, exposure to environmental and occupational pollution has been...     

Effects of ambient levels of air pollution on grass swards subjected to different defoliation regimes

The urgent need to evaluate effects of air quality on plant growth in the field is discussed in relation to the difficulties which field-based studies pose in the interpretation of data. An initial study is described which aimed to overcome some of these difficulties and the data are discussed within the remaining limitations. The productivity of pure swards of Lolium perenne L. and Dactylis glomerata L., subjected to defoliation at different times of the year, was studied at field sites with different levels of sulphur dioxide pollution, for a period of three years. The field sites and propagation methods were chosen so as to minimise differences in environmental conditions other than the degree of air pollution. At the most polluted site, both species showed signs of visible injury during the first winter and subsequently produced much lower yields than grasses at the other sites. The effects of cutting regimes on the growth of D. glomerata and L. perenne differed for the three years of the study. However, there was a tendency for lower yields with frequent defoliation (every 6.5 weeks), as opposed to the less regular defoliation regimes. It was concluded that air pollution was at least partially responsible for the yield reductions recorded. However, it was considered that sulphur dioxide was not the only pollutant responsible.     

Time series analysis of ambient air pollution effects on daily mortality

Although the growths of ambient pollutants have been attracting public concern, the characteristic of the associations between air pollutants and mortality remains elusive. Time series analysis with a generalized additive model was performed to estimate the associations between ambient air pollutants and mortality outcomes in Shenzhen City for the period of 2012–2014. The results showed that nitrogen dioxide (NO₂)-induced excess risks (ER) of total non-accidental mortality and cardiovascular mortality were significantly increased (6.05% (95% CI 3.38%, 8.78%); 6.88% (95% CI 2.98%, 10.93%), respectively) in interquartile range (IQR) increase analysis. Also, these associations were strengthened after adjusting for other pollutants. Moreover, similar associations were estimated for sulfur dioxide (SO₂), particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of <10 μm (PM₁₀), and total non-accidental mortality. There were significant higher ERs of associations between PM₁₀ and mortality for men than women; while there were significant higher ERs of associations between PM₁₀/NO₂ and mortality for elders (65 or elder) than youngers (64 or younger). Season analyses showed that associations between NO₂ and total non-accidental mortality were more pronounced in hot seasons than in warm seasons. Taken together, NO₂ was positively associated with total non-accidental mortality and cardiovascular mortality in Shenzhen even when the concentrations were below the ambient air quality standard. Policy measures should aim at reducing residents’ exposure to anthropogenic NO₂ emissions.     

National review of ambient air toxics observations

Ambient air observations of hazardous air pollutant (HAPs), also known as air toxics, derived from routine monitoring networks operated by states, local agencies, and tribes (SLTs), are analyzed to characterize national concentrations and risk across the nation for a representative subset of the 187 designated HAPs. Observations from the National Air Toxics Trend Sites (NATTS) network of 27 stations located in most major urban areas of the contiguous United States have provided a consistent record of HAPs that have been identified as posing the greatest risk since 2003 and have also captured similar concentration patterns of nearly 300 sites operated by SLTs. Relatively high concentration volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as benzene, formaldehyde, and toluene exhibit the highest annual average concentration levels, typically ranging from 1 to 5 µg/m³. Halogenated (except for methylene chloride) and semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs) and metals exhibit concentrations typically 2–3 orders of magnitude lower. Formaldehyde is the highest national risk driver based on estimated cancer risk and, nationally, has not exhibited significant changes in concentration, likely associated with the large pool of natural isoprene and formaldehyde emissions. Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and 1,3-butadiene are ubiquitous VOC HAPs with large mobile source contributions that continue to exhibit declining concentrations over the last decade. Common chlorinated organic compounds such as ethylene dichloride and methylene chloride exhibit increasing concentrations. The variety of physical and chemical attributes and measurement technologies across 187 HAPs result in a broad range of method detection limits (MDLs) and cancer risk thresholds that challenge confidence in risk results for low concentration HAPs with MDLs near or greater than risk thresholds. From a national monitoring network perspective, the ability of the HAPs observational database to characterize the multiple pollutant and spatial scale patterns influencing exposure is severely limited and positioned to benefit by leveraging a variety of emerging measurement technologies.

Implications:?Ambient air toxics observation networks have limited ability to characterize the broad suite of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) that affect exposures across multiple spatial scales. While our networks are best suited to capture major urban-scale signals of ubiquitous volatile organic compound HAPs, incorporation of sensing technologies that address regional and local-scale exposures should be pursued to address major gaps in spatial resolution. Caution should be exercised in interpreting HAPs observations based on data proximity to minimum detection limit and risk thresholds.     

鞍山市大气中挥发性有机物的污染特征研究

对鞍山市不同功能区(工业区、工业区附近、居住区和对照区)的大气进行分季节(夏、冬季)采样,分析该市大气中挥发性有机物(VOCs)的污染水平和季节变化特征.结果表明,夏、冬季的大气中的VOCs浓度变化差异显著,总体来说夏季大气中的VOCs浓度高于冬季;夏季大气中苯系物、挥发性卤代烃浓度分别是冬季的1.1～2.7、1.4～...     

Declining ambient air pollution and lung function improvement in Austrian children

Three thousand four hundred fifty-one Austrian elementary school children were examined (between 2 and 8 times) by spirometry by standardized methods, over a 5 yr period. The districts where they lived were grouped into those where NO₂ declined during this period (by at least 30 μg/m³ measured as half year means) and those with less or no decline in ambient NO₂. In both groups of districts, SO₂ and TSP fell by similar amounts over this period. A continuous improvement of MEF25 (maximum exspiratory flow rate at 25% vital capacity) was found in districts with declining ambient NO₂. Populations did not differ in respect of anthropometric factors, passive smoking or socioeconomic status. A birth cohort from this study population which was followed up to age 18 confirmed the improved growth of MEF25 with decline in NO₂, while the improved growth of forced vital capacity was more related to decline in SO_2. This study provides the first evidence that improvements in the outdoor air quality during the 1980s are correlated with health benefits, and suggest that adverse effects on lung function related to ambient air pollution are reversible before adulthood. Improvement of small airway functions appeared to be more dependent on reductions of NO₂ than reduction in SO₂ and TSP.     

Spatially differentiated and source-specific population exposure to ambient urban air pollution

Models assessing exposure to air pollution often focus on macro-scale estimates of exposure to all types of sources for a particular pollutant across an urban study area. While results based on these models may aid policy makers in identifying larger areas of elevated exposure risk, they often do not differentiate the proportion of population exposure attributable to different polluting sources (e.g. traffic or industrial). In this paper, we introduce a population exposure modeling system that integrates air dispersion modeling, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and population exposure techniques to spatially characterize a source-specific exposure to ambient air pollution for an entire urban population at a fine geographical scale. By area, total population exposure in Dallas County in 2000 was more attributable to vehicle polluting sources than industrial polluting sources at all levels of exposure. Population exposure was moderately correlated with vehicle sources (r = 0.440, p < 0.001) and weakly with industrial sources (r = 0.069, p = 0.004). Population density was strongly correlated with total exposure (r = 0.896, p < 0.001) but was not significantly correlated with individual or combined sources. The results of this study indicate that air quality assessments must incorporate more than industrial or vehicle polluting sources-based population exposure values alone, but should consider multiple sources. The population exposure modeling system proposed in this study shows promise for use by municipal authorities, policy makers, and epidemiologists in evaluating and controlling the quality of the air in the process of urban planning and mitigation measures.     

The state of ambient air quality in Pakistan—a review

Background and purpose  

Pakistan, during the last decade, has seen an extensive escalation in population growth, urbanization, and industrialization, together with a great increase in motorization and energy use. As a result, a substantial rise has taken place in the types and number of emission sources of various air pollutants. However, due to the lack of air quality management capabilities, the country is suffering from deterioration of air quality. Evidence from various governmental organizations and international bodies has indicated that air pollution is a significant risk to the environment, quality of life, and health of the population. The Government has taken positive steps toward air quality management in the form of the Pakistan Clean Air Program and has recently established a small number of continuous monitoring stations. However, ambient air quality standards have not yet been established. This paper reviews the data being available on the criteria air pollutants: particulate matter (PM), sulfur dioxide, ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and lead.     

New insights about human tick infestation features: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - There are many studies that provide information regarding ticks infesting humans. However, there is no a meta-analysis about the global ranks of tick...     

Short-term effects and economic burden assessment of ambient air pollution on hospitalizations for schizophrenia

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The evidence&nbsp;on the health and economic impacts of air pollution with schizophrenia is scarce, especially in developing countries. In this...     

Removal of antibiotics from aqueous solutions by nanoparticles: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Antibiotics, as one of the emerging pollutants, are non-biodegradable compounds and long-term exposure to them may affect endocrine, hormonal, and...     

Antibiotic exposure and risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - To investigate the association between antibiotic exposure and risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Four electronic databases, including PubMed,...