BACKGROUND The aging rate in Taiwan is the second highest in the world. As the population ages quickly, the prevalence of dementia increases rapidly. There are some studies that have explored the association between air pollution and cognitive decline, but the association between air pollution and dementia has not been directly evaluated. METHODS This was a case-control study comprising 249 A...

Ishii, Hiroshi, Takeshi Fujii, James C. Hogg, Shizu Hayashi, Hiroshi Mukae, Renaud Vincent, and Stephan F. van Eeden. Contribution of IL-1 and TNFto the initiation of the peripheral lung response to atmospheric particulates (PM10). Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 287: L176–L183, 2004. First published March 5, 2004; 10.1152/ajplung.00290.2003.—Alveolar macrophages (AM) play a key role in clea...

African dust storm events (ADE) travel across the Atlantic Ocean (ADEAO) and reach the Puerto Rican coast (ADEPRC), potentially impacting air quality and human health. To what extent seasonal variations in atmospheric particulate matter (PM) size fractions, composition and sources trigger respiratory-adverse effects to Puerto Ricans is still unclear. In the present study, we investigated the pr...

Road widening schemes in urban areas are often proposed as a solution to traffic congestion and as a means of stimulating economic growth. There is however clear evidence that new or expanded roads rapidly fill with either displaced or induced traffic, offsetting any short-term gains in eased traffic flows. What has not been addressed in any great detail is the impact of such schemes on air qua...

BACKGROUND The prevalence of asthma in children is a significant phenomenon in the Caribbean. Among the etiologic factors aggravating asthma in children, environmental pollution is one of the main causes. In Guadeloupe, pollution is primarily transported by Saharan dust including inhalable particles. METHODS This study assesses, over one year (2011), the short-term effects of pollutants refer...

BACKGROUND Traffic and residential heating are the main sources of particulate matter (PM) in Northern Europe. Wood is widely used for residential heating and vehicle numbers are increasing. Besides traffic exhaust, studded tires produce road dust that is the main source of traffic-related PM10. Several studies have associated total PM mass with health symptoms; however there has been little re...

BACKGROUND Human data linking inflammation with long-term particulate matter (PM) exposure are still lacking. Emerging evidence suggests that people with metabolic syndrome (MS) may be a more susceptible population. OBJECTIVES Our goal was to examine potential inflammatory responses associated with long-term PM exposure and MS-dependent susceptibility. METHODS We conducted secondary analyse...

BACKGROUND Studies from our laboratory have shown that human alveolar macrophages (AM) and bronchial epithelial cells (HBEC) exposed to ambient particles (PM10) in vitro increase their production of inflammatory mediators and that supernatants from PM10-exposed cells shorten the transit time of monocytes through the bone marrow and promote their release into the circulation. METHODS The prese...

Recent studies have found associations between particulate air pollution and total and adult mortality. The relationship between particulate air pollution and mortality among infants has not been examined in the United States. This study evaluates the relationship between postneonatal infant mortality and particulate matter in the United States. Our study involved analysis of cohorts consisting...