RATIONALE Long-term exposure to air pollution has been related to lung function decrements in children, but the role of timing of exposure remains unknown. OBJECTIVES To assess the role of long-term exposure to air pollution on lung function in school-age children. METHODS More than 1,900 children in the Swedish birth cohort BAMSE were followed with repeated questionnaires, dynamic spiromet...

Daily average PM(10) (particulate matter which passes through a size selective impactor inlet with a 50% efficiency cut-off at 10 microm aerodynamic diameter), TSP (total suspended particulate matter) and their chemical species mass concentrations were measured at residential and industrial sites of an urban region of Kolkata during November 2003-November 2004. Source apportionment using chemic...

BACKGROUND We report on a novel approach to the analysis of suspended particulate data in a rural setting in southern Ontario. Analyses of suspended particulate matter and associated air quality standards have conventionally focussed on 24-hour mean levels of total suspended particulates (TSP) and particulate matter <10 microns, <2.5 microns and <1 micron in diameter (PM10, PM2.5, PM1, respecti...

In industry areas of Poland such as Silesia or urban sites like Krakow and some other cities, the levels of pollutants frequently breach air quality standards. Particulate matter (PM) is the most important constituent of atmospheric pollution. Beginning on 1st February 2014 until 31st January 2015, the samples of fine particulate matter PM2.5 (aerodynamic diameter of particles less than or equa...

The association of air pollutants with natural and respiratory mortality has been consistently reported. However, several aspects of the relationship between particulate matter with a 50% cut-off aerodynamic diameter of 10 μm (PM(10)) and respiratory mortality require further investigation. The aim of the present study was to assess the PM(10)-respiratory mortality association in Italy and exam...

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the air quality to which a population of 90,000 inhabitants in the province of Gipuzkoa (Basque Country, Spain) is exposed. The population resides in a periurban environment, where industrial activity (11 iron and steel foundries) is scattered among residential areas. METHODS Throughout 2006 and 2007, levels of particulate matter less than 2.5mm in diameter (PM(2.5)) we...

OBJECTIVES To study the association between short-term exposure to ultrafine particles and morbidity in Copenhagen, Denmark. METHODS We studied the association between urban background levels of the total number concentration of particles (NC(tot), 6-700 nm in diameter) measured at a single site (15 May 2001 to 31 December 2004) and hospital admissions due to cardiovascular (CVD) and respirat...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the modification effect of socioeconomic status (SES) on the association between acute exposure to particulate matter less than 10 microns in aerodynamic diameter (PM10) and mortality in Bogota, Colombia. MATERIALS AND METHODS A time-series ecological study was conducted (1998-2006). The localities of the cities were stratified using principal components analysis, creati...

We examined respiratory health effects of long-term exposure to ambient air pollution in 7,621 schoolchildren residing in eight districts of four Chinese cities. The four cities exhibited wide between-city and within-city gradients in ambient levels of four size fractions of particulate matter [less than or equal to 2.5 micro m in aerodynamic diameter (PM(2.5)), between 2.5 and 10 micro m (PM(1...

BACKGROUND The effects of airborne particulate matter (PM) are a major human health concern. In this panel study, we evaluated the acute effects of exposure to PM on peak expiratory flow (PEF) and wheezing in children. METHODS Daily PEF and wheezing were examined in 19 asthmatic children who were hospitalized in a suburban city in Japan for approximately 5 months. The concentrations of PM les...