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We distribute the publication 'Health Effects of Air Quality and Noise - Update' which is edited and compiled by Barbara Rimmington, Researcher, at the East End Quality of Life Initiative in Sheffield. It's a monthly publication listing newly published papers about health and air pollution/noise.

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Health Effects of Air Quality and Noise - Update June 2013

By Barbara Rimmington, Researcher, East End Quality of Life Initiative

Next edition - July 2013: http://cleanairuk.org/pipermail/news_cleanairuk.org/2013-July/000046.html

Previous edition - May 2013: http://cleanairuk.org/pipermail/news_cleanairuk.org/2013-June/000043.html

Index page for Health Effects of Air Quality and Noise - Update

CONTENTS

1) Air Pollution and Atherosclerosis: New Evidence to Support Air Quality Policies
2) Fine Particulate Air Pollution and the Progression of Carotid Intima-Medial Thickness: A Prospective Cohort Study from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and Air Pollution
3) UK health performance: findings of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010
4) Air pollution and public health (Greater London Authority)
5) Chronic burden of near-roadway traffic pollution in 10 European cities (APHEKOM network)
6) Long-term exposure to urban air pollution and mortality in a cohort of more than a million adults in Rome
7) Concentrations and source contributions of particulate organic matter before and after implementation of a low emission zone in Munich, Germany
8) Long-term exposure to NO2 and PM10 and all-cause and cause-specific mortality in a prospective cohort of women
9) Trends in primary NO2 and exhaust PM emissions from road traffic for the period 2000–2020 and implications for air quality and health in the Netherlands
10) Environmental nitrogen dioxide (NO2) exposure influences development and progression of ischemic stroke
11) UCLA researchers find potential link between auto pollution, some childhood cancers
12) Exposure to airborne particulate matter is associated with methylation pattern in the asthma pathway
13) Inhaled particle counts on bicycle commute routes of low and high proximity to motorised traffic
14) Occupational exposure to diesel engine emissions and risk of lung cancer: evidence from two case–control studies in Montreal, Canada
15) Traffic-related air pollutants and exhaled markers of airway inflammation and oxidative stress in New York City adolescents
16) Toxicity effects of short term diesel exhaust particles exposure to human small airway epithelial cells (SAECs) and human lung carcinoma epithelial cells (A549)
17) Traffic-related air pollution and prostate cancer risk: a case–control study in Montreal, Canada
18) Association between long-term exposure to air pollution and specific causes of mortality in Scotland
19) Paying for Pollution? How General Equilibrium Effects Undermine the “Spare the Air” Program
20) Effects of ozone and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) on rat system inflammation and cardiac function
21) A Bayesian approach to modeling the interaction between airpollution and temperature Borek Puza, Steven Roberts
  1. Air Pollution and Atherosclerosis: New Evidence to Support Air Quality Policies

    Nino Künzli

    Increasing attention is being paid to the subject of air pollution, with the bulk of previous work being done in animal models suggesting that exposure to air pollution causes atherosclerosis—stiffening and calcification of the arteries—in rabbits and mice. The new findings of Sara Adar and colleagues, published in PLOS Medicine take us a step forward in clarifying the broader implications of air pollution by offering further evidence in humans that ambient particulate matter (PM) contributes to the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

    PLoS Med 10(4): e1001432. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001432 - read article http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001432

  2. Fine Particulate Air Pollution and the Progression of Carotid Intima-Medial Thickness: A Prospective Cohort Study from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and Air Pollution

    Sara D. Adar, Lianne Sheppard, Sverre Vedal, Joseph F. Polak, Paul D. Sampson, Ana V. Diez Roux, Matthew Budoff, David R. Jacobs Jr, R. Graham Barr, Karol Watson, Joel D. Kaufman

    These findings suggest that higher long-term PM2.5 concentrations are associated with increased IMT progression—a surrogate for atherosclerosis progression—and that larger reductions in PM2.5 are associated with slower IMT progression. By combining these findings with other results from MESA Air, the researchers estimate that individuals living in parts of town with 2.5 µg/m3 higher PM2.5 levels may have a 2% increased risk of stroke compared to people living in less polluted regions of the same metropolitan area. Because of study limitations such as the use of a surrogate marker for atherosclerosis and the failure to account for changes in other factors that might also have affected CVD risk, the findings reported here should be interpreted cautiously. Nevertheless, these findings support the hypothesis that long-term exposure to PM2.5 is associated with the progression of atherosclerosis and consequently with an increased risk of CVD, even at PM2.5 levels below existing regulatory standards.

    PLoS Med 10(4): e1001430. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001430 - read article http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001430

  3. UK health performance: findings of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010

    Christopher JL Murray, Michael A Richards, John N Newton, Kevin A Fenton, H Ross Anderson, Charles Atkinson, Derrick Bennett, Eduardo Bernabé, Hannah Blencowe, Rupert Bourne, Tasanee Braithwaite, Carol Brayne, Nigel G Bruce, Traolach S Brugha, Peter Burney, Mukesh Dherani, Helen Dolk, Karen Edmond, Majid Ezzati, Abraham D Flaxman, Tom D Fleming, Greg Freedman, David Gunnell, Roderick J Hay, Sally J Hutchings, Summer Lockett Ohno, Rafael Lozano, Ronan A Lyons, Wagner Marcenes, Mohsen Naghavi, Charles R Newton, Neil Pearce, Dan Pope, Lesley Rushton, Joshua A Salomon, Kenji Shibuya, Theo Vos, Haidong Wang, Hywel C Williams, Anthony D Woolf, Alan D Lopez, Adrian Davis

    The performance of the UK in terms of premature mortality is persistently and significantly below the mean of EU15+ and requires additional concerted action. Further progress in premature mortality from several major causes, such as cardiovascular diseases and cancers, will probably require improved public health, prevention, early intervention, and treatment activities. The growing burden of disability, particularly from mental disorders, substance use, musculoskeletal disorders, and falls deserves an integrated and strategic response.

    The Lancet, March 2013 381:9871 997-1020, 23 - read article http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2813%2960355-4/fulltext

  4. Air pollution and public health (Greater London Authority)

    Air quality guidance for public health professionals for London boroughs can be found here: http://www.london.gov.uk/priorities/environment/clearing-londons-air/air-pollution-and-public-health

  5. Chronic burden of near-roadway traffic pollution in 10 European cities (APHEKOM network)

  6. Laura Perez, Christophe Declercq, Carmen Iñiguez, Inmaculada Aguilera, Chiara Badaloni, Ferran Ballester, Catherine Bouland, Olivier Chanel, FB Cirarda, Francesco Forastiere, Bertil Forsberg, Daniela Haluzaff, Britta Hedlund, Koldo Cambra, Marina Lacasaña, Hanns Moshammer, Peter Otorepec, Miguel Rodríguez-Barranco, Sylvia Medina, Nino Künzli

    Exposure to roads with high vehicle traffic, a proxy for near road traffic-related pollution, accounted for 14% of all asthma cases. When a causal relationship between near road traffic-related pollution and asthma is assumed, 15% of all episodes of asthma symptoms were attributable to air pollution. Without this assumption, only 2% of asthma symptoms were attributable to air pollution. Similar patterns were found for coronary heart diseases in older adults. Pollutants along busy roads are responsible for a large and preventable share of chronic disease and related acute exacerbation in European urban areas.

    European Respiratory Journal, 2013 - read abstract http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/early/2013/03/20/09031936.00031112.abstract

  7. Long-term exposure to urban air pollution and mortality in a cohort of more than a million adults in Rome

    Cesaroni, G. Badaloni, C., Gariazzo, C. et al

    The strongest link identified was between traffic pollution and death from ischemic heart disease, which is characterised by fatty deposits and narrowing in the arteries around the heart. The analysis accounted for other factors that might lead to ill health, including age, sex, marital status, education, occupation and smoking. Risk of death increased steadily with increasing exposure to pollutants. This suggests that, in general, someone living closer to heavy traffic for several years will be more likely to die of cardiovascular causes than someone living further away for the same amount of time. In the study, those who lived less than 50 metres from a busy road were significantly more likely to have died during the study period compared to those living more than 250 metres away.

    Environmental Health Perspectives, 2013, 121(3), 324–31 - read abstract http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23308401

  8. Concentrations and source contributions of particulate organic matter before and after implementation of a low emission zone in Munich, Germany

    Qadir, R. M., Abbaszade, G., SchnelleKreis, J. et al.

    The implementation of the LEZ had a strong beneficial effect on traffic-based pollution. Particles from traffic were reduced by 60%, and the ‘elemental carbon’ from traffic exhaust, an important component of aerosol pollution which has been linked to respiratory problems, fell from 1.1 to 0.5 micrograms per m3. Overall, the researchers conclude that the LEZ had an important, positive impact on the amount of traffic pollution in this highly populated urban centre. They also stress, however, that other sources of pollution should be carefully considered, and that more research into the health impacts of solid fuel combustion is needed.

    Environmental Pollution, 2013, 175: 158-167 - read abstract

  9. Long-term exposure to NO2 and PM10 and all-cause and cause-specific mortality in a prospective cohort of women

    Joachim Heinrich, Elisabeth Thiering, Peter Rzehak, Ursula Krämer, Matthias Hochadel, Knut M Rauchfuss, Ulrike Gehring, H-Erich Wichmann

    This study provided estimates for mortality effects of long-term exposure to ambient air pollution from Germany. These estimates should be considered when re-evaluating European guidelines for air quality standards. All-cause, cardiopulmonary and lung cancer mortality increased with increasing exposure to PM10. Increased NO2 exposure was associated with a significantly elevated hazard rate ratio for all-cause and cardiopulmonary mortality. Living close to major roads was associated with an increased relative risk for all-cause, cardiopulmonary and respiratory mortality.

    Occup Environ Med 2013;70:179–186 - read full article http://oem.bmj.com/content/70/3/179.full.pdf+html

  10. Trends in primary NO2 and exhaust PM emissions from road traffic for the period 2000–2020 and implications for air quality and health in the Netherlands

    M.P. Keuken, M.G.M. Roemer, P. Zandveld, R.P. Verbeek, G.J.M. Velders

    Increasing primary NO2 in NOx emissions hampers compliance with NO2 limit value. Positive health effects of decreasing exhaust PM versus increasing NO2 in 2010–2020. Relative risk of long-term exposure to NO2 expected to decrease the coming years.

    Atmospheric Environment July 2012, 54 313–319 - read abstract http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1352231012001240

  11. Environmental nitrogen dioxide (NO2) exposure influences development and progression of ischemic stroke

    Na Zhu, Hongyan Li, Ming Han, Lin Guo, Liqun Chen, Yang Yun, Zhen Guo, Guangke Li, Nan Sang

    Environmental NO2 exposure increases the risk of ischemic stroke. Environmental NO2 exposure worsens the outcome of ischemic stroke. eNOS, COX-2 and ICAM-1 are potential biomarkers in NO2 induced ischemic stroke.

    Toxicology Letters, 2012, 214:2 120–130 - read abstract http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378427412012660

  12. UCLA researchers find potential link between auto pollution, some childhood cancers

    Shaun Mason

    The researchers found that heightened exposure to traffic-related air pollution was associated with increases in three rare types of childhood cancer: acute lymphoblastic leukemia (white blood cell cancer), germ-cell tumors (cancers of the testicles, ovaries and other organs) and retinoblastoma (eye cancer), particularly bilateral retinoblastoma, in which both eyes are affected.

    UCLA Newsroom April 09, 2013 - read article http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/ucla-researchers-link-auto-pollution-244911.aspx?link_page_rss=244911

  13. Exposure to airborne particulate matter is associated with methylation pattern in the asthma pathway

    Tamar Sofer, Andrea Baccarelli, Laura Cantone,Brent Coull, Arnab Maity, Xihong Lin, Joel Schwartz

    The analysis found that exposures to black carbon and sulfate were significantly associated with the methylation pattern in the asthma pathway (p-values 0.05 and 0.02, accordingly). Specific genes that contributed to this association were identified. These results suggest that the effect of air pollution on asthmatic and respiratory responses may be mediated through gene methylation.

    Epigenomics April 2013, 5:2 147-154 - read abstract http://www.futuremedicine.com/doi/abs/10.2217/epi.13.16

  14. Inhaled particle counts on bicycle commute routes of low and high proximity to motorised traffic

    Tom Cole-Hunter, Lidia Morawska, Ian Stewart, Rohan Jayaratne, Colin Solomon

    We identify popular bicycle commute routes of Brisbane, Australia. We assess particle number concentrations for popular bicycle commute routes. We calculate and compare inhaled particle count of routes from real-time data. Inhaled particle count is positively-associated with proximity to motorised traffic.

    Atmospheric Environment December 2012, 61 197–203 - read abstract http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1352231012006048

  15. Occupational exposure to diesel engine emissions and risk of lung cancer: evidence from two case–control studies in Montreal, Canada

    Javier Pintos, Marie-Elise Parent, Lesley Richardson, Jack Siemiatyck

    Our findings provide further evidence supporting a causal link between diesel engine emissions and risk of lung cancer. The risk is stronger for the development of squamous cell carcinomas than for small cell tumours or adenocarcinomas.

    Occup Environ Med 2012;69:787-792 - read abstract http://oem.bmj.com/content/69/11/787.abstract

  16. Traffic-related air pollutants and exhaled markers of airway inflammation and oxidative stress in New York City adolescents

    Molini M. Patel, Steven N. Chillrud, K.C. Deepti, James M. Ross, Patrick L. Kinney

    We measured airway inflammation in urban youth with and without asthma for 4 weeks. We measured daily ambient air black carbon as an ndicator of diesel air pollution. Black carbon was associated with airway inflammation and oxidative stress over time. Ambient air nitrogen dioxide was associated with airway oxidative stress over time. Traffic emissions may increase airway inflammation in youth with and without asthma.

    Environmental Research February 2013, 121 71–78 - read abstract http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S001393511200312X

  17. Toxicity effects of short term diesel exhaust particles exposure to human small airway epithelial cells (SAECs) and human lung carcinoma epithelial cells (A549)

    Mingjie Tang, Qifei Li, Lifu Xiao, Yanping Li, Judy L. Jensen, Theodore G. Liou, Anhong Zhou

    Cancer and normal lung cells exposed to diesel exhaust particles (DEPs) are analyzed. Short term exposure (2 h) leads to the significant decrease in cell elasticity. Normal primary cells are more sensitive than cancer cells to DEP exposure. Short term of 2 h exposure would be enough to product inflammatory responses.

    Toxicology Letters December 2012 215:3 181–192 - read abstract http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378427412013641

  18. Traffic-related air pollution and prostate cancer risk: a case–control study in Montreal, Canada

    Marie-Élise Parent, Mark S Goldberg, Dan L Crouse, Nancy A Ross, Hong Chen, Marie-France Valois, Alexandre Liautaud

    There is a paucity of information on environmental risk factors for prostate cancer. We conducted a case–control study in Montreal to estimate associations with exposure to ground-level nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a marker for traffic-related air pollution. Exposure to ambient concentrations of NO2 at the current address was associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer. This novel finding requires replication.

    Occup Environ Med 2013;70:511-518 - read abstract http://oem.bmj.com/content/70/7/511.abstract?etoc

  19. Association between long-term exposure to air pollution and specific causes of mortality in Scotland

    Christina Yap, Iain J Beverland, Mathew R Heal, Geoffrey R Cohen, Chris Robertson, Deborah E,J Henderson, Neil S Ferguson, Carole L Hart, George Morris, Raymond M Agius

    The association between mortality and long-term exposure to Black Smoke observed in the Renfrew/Paisley cohort is consistent with hypotheses of how air pollution may affect human health. The dissimilarity in pollution–mortality associations for different exposure models highlights the critical importance of reliable estimation of exposures on intraurban spatial scales to avoid potential misclassification bias.

    Occup Environ Med 2012;69:916-924 - read abstract http://oem.bmj.com/content/69/12/916.abstract

  20. Paying for Pollution? How General Equilibrium Effects Undermine the “Spare the Air” Program

    Steven E. Sexton

    This paper examines the extent to which free transit fares and appeals for car trip avoidance reduce car pollution on smoggy days. Using data on freeway traffic volumes and transit ridership, public appeals for cooperation are shown to have no significant effect on car trip demand. Free transit fares, however, do have a significant effect on car trip demand. But the effect is perverse in that it generates an increase in car trips and related pollution. Free fares also increase transit ridership. These results suggest that free transit rides do not induce motorists to substitute to transit, but instead subsidize regular transit rides and additional trips. Appeals for cooperation have no affect on carpooling behavior.

    Environmental and Resource Economics Dec 2012, 53:4 553-575 - read abstract http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10640-012-9577-z

  21. Effects of ozone and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) on rat system inflammation and cardiac function

    Guanghe Wang, Rongfang Jiang, Zhuohui Zhao, Weimin Song

    PM2.5 alone caused injuries in heart and systemic function of rats. Ozone alone did not induce similar adverse effects, but enhanced PM2.5 toxicology. A dose–depend relationship was observed in ozone plus PM2.5 exposure. Dysfunction of ANS might be one of the biological mechanisms of PM2.5.

    Toxicology Letters February 2013, 217:1 23–33 - read abstract http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378427412013823

  22. A Bayesian approach to modeling the interaction between airpollution and temperature Borek Puza, Steven Roberts

    Investigating the interaction between particulate matter air pollution (PM) and temperature is important for quantifying the effects of PM on mortality.Analysis of daily data over several years provides evidence for an interactive effect between PM and temperature in Sydney and no support for such an effect in Melbourne.

    Annals of Epidemiology, April 2013, 23:4 198-203 - read abstract http://www.annalsofepidemiology.org/article/S1047-2797%2813%2900017-3/abstract

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Compiler and Editor: Barbara Rimmington, Researcher
East End Quality of Life Initiative, 10 Montgomery Terrace Road, Sheffield S6 3BU
Tel. 0114 285 9931; Fax 0114 278 7173
Email: barbara at sheffieldct.co.uk
Web: http://www.sheffieldeastend.org.uk

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