Local- and regional-scale air pollution modelling (PM10) and exposure assessment for pregnancy trimesters, infancy, and childhood to age 15?years: Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents And Children (ALSPAC).

ABSTRACT: We established air pollution modelling to study particle (PM10) exposures during pregnancy and infancy (1990-1993) through childhood and adolescence up to age ~15?years (1991-2008) for the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents And Children (ALSPAC) birth cohort. For pregnancy trimesters and infancy (birth to 6?months; 7 to 12?months) we used local (ADMS-Urban) and regional/long-range (NAME-III) air pollution models, with a model constant for local, non-anthropogenic sources. For longer exposure periods (annually and the average of birth to age ~8 and to age ~15?years to coincide with relevant follow-up clinics) we assessed spatial contrasts in local sources of PM10 with a yearly-varying concentration for all background sources. We modelled PM10 (?g/m3) for 36,986 address locations over 19?years and then accounted for changes in address in calculating exposures for different periods: trimesters/infancy (n?=?11,929); each year of life to age ~15 (n?=?10,383). Intra-subject exposure contrasts were largest between pregnancy trimesters (5th to 95th centile: 24.4-37.3??g/m3) and mostly related to temporal variability in regional/long-range PM10. PM10 exposures fell on average by 11.6??g/m3 from first year of life (mean concentration?=?31.2??g/m3) to age ~15 (mean?=?19.6??g/m3), and 5.4??g/m3 between follow-up clinics (age ~8 to age ~15). Spatial contrasts in 8-year average PM10 exposures (5th to 95th centile) were relatively low: 25.4-30.0??g/m3 to age ~8?years and 20.7-23.9??g/m3 from age ~8 to age ~15?years. The contribution of local sources to total PM10 was 18.5%-19.5% during pregnancy and infancy, and 14.4%-17.0% for periods leading up to follow-up clinics. Main roads within the study area contributed on average ~3.0% to total PM10 exposures in all periods; 9.5% of address locations were within 50?m of a main road. Exposure estimates will be used in a number of planned epidemiological studies.

SUBMITTER: Gulliver J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5907299 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature