Dataset Information

Air pollution and respiratory infections during early childhood: an analysis of 10 European birth cohorts within the ESCAPE Project.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Few studies have investigated traffic-related air pollution as a risk factor for respiratory infections during early childhood.

Objectives

We aimed to investigate the association between air pollution and pneumonia, croup, and otitis media in 10 European birth cohorts--BAMSE (Sweden), GASPII (Italy), GINIplus and LISAplus (Germany), MAAS (United Kingdom), PIAMA (the Netherlands), and four INMA cohorts (Spain)--and to derive combined effect estimates using meta-analysis.

Methods

Parent report of physician-diagnosed pneumonia, otitis media, and croup during early childhood were assessed in relation to annual average pollutant levels [nitrogen dioxide (NO2), nitrogen oxide (NOx), particulate matter?2.5 ?m (PM2.5), PM2.5 absorbance, PM10, PM2.5-10 (coarse PM)], which were estimated using land use regression models and assigned to children based on their residential address at birth. Identical protocols were used to develop regression models for each study area as part of the ESCAPE project. Logistic regression was used to calculate adjusted effect estimates for each study, and random-effects meta-analysis was used to calculate combined estimates.

Results

For pneumonia, combined adjusted odds ratios (ORs) were elevated and statistically significant for all pollutants except PM2.5 (e.g., OR=1.30; 95% CI: 1.02, 1.65 per 10-?g/m3 increase in NO2 and OR=1.76; 95% CI: 1.00, 3.09 per 10-?g/m3 PM10). For otitis media and croup, results were generally null across all analyses except for NO2 and otitis media (OR=1.09; 95% CI: 1.02, 1.16 per 10-?g/m3).

Conclusion

Our meta-analysis of 10 European birth cohorts within the ESCAPE project found consistent evidence for an association between air pollution and pneumonia in early childhood, and some evidence for an association with otitis media.

SUBMITTER: MacIntyre EA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3888562 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Air pollution and respiratory infections during early childhood: an analysis of 10 European birth cohorts within the ESCAPE Project.

MacIntyre Elaina A EA Gehring Ulrike U Mölter Anna A Fuertes Elaine E Klümper Claudia C Krämer Ursula U Quass Ulrich U Hoffmann Barbara B Gascon Mireia M Brunekreef Bert B Koppelman Gerard H GH Beelen Rob R Hoek Gerard G Birk Matthias M de Jongste Johan C JC Smit H A HA Cyrys Josef J Gruzieva Olena O Korek Michal M Bergström Anna A Agius Raymond M RM de Vocht Frank F Simpson Angela A Porta Daniela D Forastiere Francesco F Badaloni Chiara C Cesaroni Giulia G Esplugues Ana A Fernández-Somoano Ana A Lerxundi Aitana A Sunyer Jordi J Cirach Marta M Nieuwenhuijsen Mark J MJ Pershagen Göran G Heinrich Joachim J

Environmental health perspectives 20131022 1

<h4>Background</h4>Few studies have investigated traffic-related air pollution as a risk factor for respiratory infections during early childhood.<h4>Objectives</h4>We aimed to investigate the association between air pollution and pneumonia, croup, and otitis media in 10 European birth cohorts--BAMSE (Sweden), GASPII (Italy), GINIplus and LISAplus (Germany), MAAS (United Kingdom), PIAMA (the Netherlands), and four INMA cohorts (Spain)--and to derive combined effect estimates using meta-analysis. ...[more]

PMID: 24149084

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Project description:Short-term exposure to air pollution has adverse effects among patients with asthma, but whether long-term exposure to air pollution is a cause of adult-onset asthma is unclear.We aimed to investigate the association between air pollution and adult onset asthma.Asthma incidence was prospectively assessed in six European cohorts. Exposures studied were annual average concentrations at home addresses for nitrogen oxides assessed for 23,704 participants (including 1,257 incident cases) and particulate matter (PM) assessed for 17,909 participants through ESCAPE land-use regression models and traffic exposure indicators. Meta-analyses of cohort-specific logistic regression on asthma incidence were performed. Models were adjusted for age, sex, overweight, education, and smoking and included city/area within each cohort as a random effect.In this longitudinal analysis, asthma incidence was positively, but not significantly, associated with all exposure metrics, except for PMcoarse. Positive associations of borderline significance were observed for nitrogen dioxide [adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 1.10; 95% CI: 0.99, 1.21 per 10 ?g/m3; p = 0.10] and nitrogen oxides (adjusted OR = 1.04; 95% CI: 0.99, 1.08 per 20 ?g/m3; p = 0.08). Nonsignificant positive associations were estimated for PM10 (adjusted OR = 1.04; 95% CI: 0.88, 1.23 per 10 ?g/m3), PM2.5 (adjusted OR = 1.04; 95% CI: 0.88, 1.23 per 5 ?g/m3), PM2.5absorbance (adjusted OR = 1.06; 95% CI: 0.95, 1.19 per 10-5/m), traffic load (adjusted OR = 1.10; 95% CI: 0.93, 1.30 per 4 million vehicles × meters/day on major roads in a 100-m buffer), and traffic intensity (adjusted OR = 1.10; 95% CI: 0.93, 1.30 per 5,000 vehicles/day on the nearest road). A nonsignificant negative association was estimated for PMcoarse (adjusted OR = 0.98; 95% CI: 0.87, 1.14 per 5 ?g/m3).Results suggest a deleterious effect of ambient air pollution on asthma incidence in adults. Further research with improved personal-level exposure assessment (vs. residential exposure assessment only) and phenotypic characterization is needed.

Project description:BackgroundPrenatal exposure to air pollutants has been suggested as a possible etiologic factor for the occurrence of autism spectrum disorder.ObjectivesWe aimed to assess whether prenatal air pollution exposure is associated with childhood autistic traits in the general population.MethodsOurs was a collaborative study of four European population-based birth/child cohorts-CATSS (Sweden), Generation R (the Netherlands), GASPII (Italy), and INMA (Spain). Nitrogen oxides (NO2, NOx) and particulate matter (PM) with diameters of ? 2.5 ?m (PM2.5), ? 10 ?m (PM10), and between 2.5 and 10 ?m (PM(coarse)), and PM2.5 absorbance were estimated for birth addresses by land-use regression models based on monitoring campaigns performed between 2008 and 2011. Levels were extrapolated back in time to exact pregnancy periods. We quantitatively assessed autistic traits when the child was between 4 and 10 years of age. Children were classified with autistic traits within the borderline/clinical range and within the clinical range using validated cut-offs. Adjusted cohort-specific effect estimates were combined using random-effects meta-analysis.ResultsA total of 8,079 children were included. Prenatal air pollution exposure was not associated with autistic traits within the borderline/clinical range (odds ratio = 0.94; 95% CI: 0.81, 1.10 per each 10-?g/m3 increase in NO2 pregnancy levels). Similar results were observed in the different cohorts, for the other pollutants, and in assessments of children with autistic traits within the clinical range or children with autistic traits as a quantitative score.ConclusionsPrenatal exposure to NO2 and PM was not associated with autistic traits in children from 4 to 10 years of age in four European population-based birth/child cohort studies.CitationGuxens M, Ghassabian A, Gong T, Garcia-Esteban R, Porta D, Giorgis-Allemand L, Almqvist C, Aranbarri A, Beelen R, Badaloni C, Cesaroni G, de Nazelle A, Estarlich M, Forastiere F, Forns J, Gehring U, Ibarluzea J, Jaddoe VW, Korek M, Lichtenstein P, Nieuwenhuijsen MJ, Rebagliato M, Slama R, Tiemeier H, Verhulst FC, Volk HE, Pershagen G, Brunekreef B, Sunyer J. 2016. Air pollution exposure during pregnancy and childhood autistic traits in four European population-based cohort studies: the ESCAPE Project. Environ Health Perspect 124:133-140; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1408483.

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Project description:BackgroundTelomere length is a molecular marker of biological aging.ObjectiveHere we investigated whether early-life exposure to residential air pollution was associated with leukocyte telomere length (LTL) at 8 y of age.MethodsIn a multicenter European birth cohort study, HELIX (Human Early Life Exposome) ([Formula: see text]), we estimated prenatal and 1-y childhood exposure to nitrogen dioxide ([Formula: see text]), particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter [Formula: see text] ([Formula: see text]), and proximity to major roads. Average relative LTL was measured using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Effect estimates of the association between LTL and prenatal, 1-y childhood air pollution, and proximity to major roads were calculated using multiple linear mixed models with a random cohort effect and adjusted for relevant covariates.ResultsLTL was inversely associated with prenatal and 1-y childhood [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] exposures levels. Each standard deviation (SD) increase in prenatal [Formula: see text] was associated with a [Formula: see text] (95% CI: [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text]) change in LTL. Prenatal [Formula: see text] was nonsignificantly associated with LTL ([Formula: see text] per SD increase; 95% CI: [Formula: see text], 0.6). For each SD increment in 1-y childhood [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] exposure, LTL shortened by [Formula: see text] (95% CI: [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text]) and [Formula: see text] (95% CI: [Formula: see text], 0.1), respectively. Each doubling in residential distance to nearest major road during childhood was associated with a 1.6% (95% CI: 0.02, 3.1) lengthening in LTL.ConclusionLower exposures to air pollution during pregnancy and childhood were associated with longer telomeres in European children at 8 y of age. These results suggest that reductions in traffic-related air pollution may promote molecular longevity, as exemplified by telomere length, from early life onward. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP4148.

Dataset Information

Air pollution and respiratory infections during early childhood: an analysis of 10 European birth cohorts within the ESCAPE Project.

Background

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Air pollution and respiratory infections during early childhood: an analysis of 10 European birth cohorts within the ESCAPE Project.

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