Academically Produced Air Pollution Sensors for Personal Exposure Assessment: The Canarin Project.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Dessimond B
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7962460 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:BackgroundTo mitigate air pollution-related health risks and target interventions towards the populations bearing the greatest risks, the City Health Outlook (CHO) project aims to establish multi-scale, long-lasting, real-time urban environment and health monitoring networks. A major goal of CHO is to collect data of personal exposure to particulate air pollution through a full profile that consists of a matrix of activities and micro-environments. As the first paper of a series, this paper is targeted at illustrating the characteristics of the participants and examining the effects of different covariates on personal exposure at various air pollution exposure levels.MethodsIn the first campaign, volunteers are recruited to wear portable environmental sensors to record their real-time personal air pollution exposure and routes. After a web-based social media recruitment strategy, 50 eligible subjects joined the first campaign in Beijing from January 8 to January 20, 2018. The mean personal exposures were measured at 19.36, 37.65, and 43.45 μg/m3 for particulate matter (PM) with a diameter less than 1, 2.5, and 10 μm, respectively, albeit with the high spatial-temporal variations.ResultsUnequal distribution of exposures was observed in the subjects with different sociodemographic status, travel behavior, living and health conditions. Quantile regression analysis reveals that subjects who are younger, less educated, exposed to passive smoking, low to middle household income, overweight, without ventilation system at home or office, and do not possess private vehicles, are more susceptible to PM pollution. The differences, however, are generally insignificant at low exposure levels and become evident on bad air quality days.ConclusionsThe heterogeneity in personal exposure found in this the first CHO campaign highlighted the importance of studying the pollution exposure at the individual scale. It is at the critical stage to bridge the knowledge gap of environmental inequality in different populations, which can lead to great health implications.
| S-EPMC6555980 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundExposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) increases the risk of asthma exacerbations, and thus, monitoring personal exposure to PM2.5 may aid in disease self-management. Low-cost, portable air pollution sensors offer a convenient way to measure personal pollution exposure directly and may improve personalized monitoring compared with traditional methods that rely on stationary monitoring stations. We aimed to understand whether adults with asthma would be willing to use personal sensors to monitor their exposure to air pollution and to assess the feasibility of using sensors to measure real-time PM2.5 exposure.MethodsWe conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 adults with asthma to understand their willingness to use a personal pollution sensor and their privacy preferences with regard to sensor data. Student research assistants used HabitatMap AirBeam devices to take PM2.5 measurements at 1-s intervals while walking in Philadelphia neighborhoods in May-August 2018. AirBeam PM2.5 measurements were compared to concurrent measurements taken by three nearby regulatory monitors.ResultsAll interview participants stated that they would use a personal air pollution sensor, though the consensus was that devices should be small (watch- or palm-sized) and light. Patients were generally unconcerned about privacy or sharing their GPS location, with only two stating they would not share their GPS location under any circumstances. PM2.5 measurements were taken using AirBeam sensors on 34 walks that extended through five Philadelphia neighborhoods. The range of sensor PM2.5 measurements was 0.6-97.6 μg/mL (mean 6.8 μg/mL), compared to 0-22.6 μg/mL (mean 9.0 μg/mL) measured by nearby regulatory monitors. Compared to stationary measurements, which were only available as 1-h integrated averages at discrete monitoring sites, sensor measurements permitted characterization of fine-scale fluctuations in PM2.5 levels over time and space.ConclusionsPatients were generally interested in using sensors to monitor their personal exposure to PM2.5 and willing to share personal sensor data with health care providers and researchers. Compared to traditional methods of personal exposure assessment, sensors captured personalized air quality information at higher spatiotemporal resolution. Improvements to currently available sensors, including more reliable Bluetooth connectivity, increased portability, and longer battery life would facilitate their use in a general patient population.
| S-EPMC8420032 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Personal air pollution monitoring in research studies should not interfere with usual patterns of behavior and bias results. In an urban pediatric cohort study we tested whether wearing an air monitor impacted activity time based on continuous watch-based accelerometry. The majority (71%) reported that activity while wearing the monitor mimicked normal activity. Correspondingly, variation in activity while wearing versus not wearing the monitor did not differ greatly from baseline variation in activity (P?=?0.84).
| S-EPMC6330888 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Background and Objectives: Particulate Matter (PM), particles of variable but small diameter can penetrate the respiratory system via inhalation, causing respiratory and/or cardiovascular diseases. This study aims to evaluate the association of environmental particulate matter (PM2.5) and black carbon (BC) with respiratory health in users of different transport modes in four roads in Bogotá. Materials and Methods: this was a mixed-method study (including a cross sectional study and a qualitative description of the air quality perception), in 300 healthy participants, based on an exploratory sequential design. The respiratory effect was measured comparing the changes between pre- and post-spirometry. The PM2.5 and black carbon (BC) concentrations were measured using portable devices. Inhaled doses were also calculated for each participant according to the mode and route. Perception was approached through semi-structured interviews. The analysis included multivariate models and concurrent triangulation. Results: The concentration of matter and black carbon were greater in bus users (median 50.67 µg m-3; interquartile range (-IR): 306.7). We found greater inhaled dosages of air pollutants among bike users (16.41 µg m-3). We did not find changes in the spirometry parameter associated with air pollutants or transport modes. The participants reported a major sensory influence at the visual and olfactory level as perception of bad air quality. Conclusions: We observed greater inhaled doses among active transport users. Nevertheless, no pathological changes were identified in the spirometry parameters. People's perceptions are a preponderant element in the assessment of air quality.
| S-EPMC9416028 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundThere is evidence for adverse effects of outdoor air pollution on lung function of children. Quantitative summaries of the effects of air pollution on lung function, however, are lacking due to large differences among studies.ObjectivesWe aimed to study the association between residential exposure to air pollution and lung function in five European birth cohorts with a standardized exposure assessment following a common protocol.MethodsAs part of the European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects (ESCAPE) we analyzed data from birth cohort studies situated in Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom that measured lung function at 6-8 years of age (n = 5,921). Annual average exposure to air pollution [nitrogen oxides (NO2, NOx), mass concentrations of particulate matter with diameters < 2.5, < 10, and 2.5-10 ?m (PM2.5, PM10, and PMcoarse), and PM2.5 absorbance] at the birth address and current address was estimated by land-use regression models. Associations of lung function with estimated air pollution levels and traffic indicators were estimated for each cohort using linear regression analysis, and then combined by random effects meta-analysis.ResultsEstimated levels of NO2, NOx, PM2.5 absorbance, and PM2.5 at the current address, but not at the birth address, were associated with small decreases in lung function. For example, changes in forced expiratory volume in 1 sec (FEV1) ranged from -0.86% (95% CI: -1.48, -0.24%) for a 20-?g/m3 increase in NOx to -1.77% (95% CI: -3.34, -0.18%) for a 5-?g/m3 increase in PM2.5.ConclusionsExposure to air pollution may result in reduced lung function in schoolchildren.
| S-EPMC3855518 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundExposure to fine particulate matter (PM with diameter ? 2.5 ?m; PM2.5) has been linked to type 2 diabetes mellitus, but associations with hyperglycemia in pregnancy have not been well studied.MethodsWe studied Boston, Massachusetts-area pregnant women without known diabetes. We identified impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) during pregnancy from clinical glucose tolerance tests at median 28.1 weeks gestation. We used residential addresses to estimate second-trimester PM2.5 and black carbon exposure via a central monitoring site and spatiotemporal models. We estimated residential traffic density and roadway proximity as surrogates for exposure to traffic-related air pollution. We performed multinomial logistic regression analyses adjusted for sociodemographic covariates, and used multiple imputation to account for missing data.ResultsOf 2,093 women, 65 (3%) had IGT and 118 (6%) had GDM. Second-trimester spatiotemporal exposures ranged from 8.5 to 15.9 ?g/m3 for PM2.5 and from 0.1 to 1.7 ?g/m3 for black carbon. Traffic density was 0-30,860 vehicles/day × length of road (kilometers) within 100 m; 281 (13%) women lived ? 200 m from a major road. The prevalence of IGT was elevated in the highest (vs. lowest) quartile of exposure to spatiotemporal PM2.5 [odds ratio (OR) = 2.63; 95% CI: 1.15, 6.01] and traffic density (OR = 2.66; 95% CI: 1.24, 5.71). IGT also was positively associated with other exposure measures, although associations were not statistically significant. No pollutant exposures were positively associated with GDM.ConclusionsGreater exposure to PM2.5 and other traffic-related pollutants during pregnancy was associated with IGT but not GDM. Air pollution may contribute to abnormal glycemia in pregnancy.
| S-EPMC3984217 | biostudies-literature
Project description:OBJECTIVE:Air pollution is a leading preventable risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Previous studies mostly relied on concentrations at residence, which might not represent personal exposure. Personal air pollution exposure has a greater variability compared with levels of ambient air pollution, facilitating evaluation of exposure-response functions and vascular pathophysiology. We aimed to evaluate the association between predicted annual personal exposure to PM2.5 and black carbon (BC) and three vascular damage markers in peri-urban South India. METHODS:We analyzed the third wave of the APCAPS cohort (2010-2012), which recruited participants from 28 villages. We used predicted personal exposure to PM2.5 and BC derived from 610 participant-days of 24 h average gravimetric PM2.5 and BC measurements and predictors related to usual time-activity. Outcomes included carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cf-PWV) and augmentation index (AIx). We fit linear mixed models, adjusting for potential confounders and accounting for the clustered data structure. We evaluated nonlinear associations using generalized additive mixed models. RESULTS:Of the 3017 participants (mean age 38 years), 1453 (48%) were women. The average PM2.5 exposure was 51 µg/m3 (range 13-85) for men, and 61 µg/m3 (range 40-120) for women, while the average BC was 4 µg/m3 (range 3-7) for men and 8 µg/m3 (range 3-22) for women. A 10 ?g/m3 increase of PM2.5 was positively associated with CIMT (0.026 mm, 95% CI 0.014, 0.037), cf-PWV (0.069 m/s, 95% CI 0.008, 0.131) and AIx (0.8%, 95% CI 0.3, 1.3) among men. The exposure-response function for PM2.5 and AIx among men showed non-linearity, particularly within the exposure range dominated by tobacco smoking and occupational exposures. Both PM2.5 and BC were positively associated with AIx among women (0.6%, 95% CI 0.2, 1.0, per 10 ?g/m3 PM2.5; 0.5%, 95% CI 0.1, 0.8, per 2 ?g/m3 BC). CONCLUSIONS:Personal exposure to particulate matter was associated with vascular damage in a peri-urban population in South India. Personal exposure to particulate matter appears to have gender-specific effects on the type of vascular damage, potentially reflecting differences in sources of personal exposure by gender.
| S-EPMC7267772 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Mobile phones have a large spectrum of applications, aiding in risk prevention and improving health and wellbeing of their owners. So far, however, they have not been used for direct assessment of personal exposure to air pollution. In this study, we comprehensively evaluated the first, and the only available, mobile phone-BROAD Life-equipped with air pollution sensors (PM2.5 and VOC), to answer the question whether this technology is a viable option in the quest of reducing the burden of disease to air pollution. We tested its performance, applicability and suitability for the purpose by subjecting it to varied concentrations of different types of aerosol particles (cigarette smoke, petrol exhaust and concrete dust) and formaldehyde under controlled laboratory conditions, as well as to ambient particles during field measurements. Six reference instruments were used in the study: AEROTRAK Optical Particle Counter (OPC model number 9306), DustTrak, Aerodynamic Particle Counter (APS), Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS), Tapered Element Oscillating Microbalance (TEOM) and Formaldehyde Analyser. Overall, we found that the phone's response was linear at higher particle number concentrations in the chamber, above 5 and 10 μg m-3, for combustion and concrete dust particles, respectively, and for higher formaldehyde concentrations, making it potentially suitable for applications in polluted environments. At lower ambient concentrations of particles around 10 ug m-3 and 20 μg m-3 for PM2.5 and PM10, respectively, the phone's response was below its noise level, suggesting that it is not suitable for ambient monitoring under relatively clean urban conditions. This mobile phone has a number of limitations that may hinder its use in personal exposure and for continuous monitoring. Despite these limitations, it may be used for comparative assessments, for example when comparing outcomes of intervention measures or local impacts of air pollution sources. It should be kept in mind, however, that a mobile phone measuring air quality alone cannot as such 'reduce the burden of disease to air pollution, as knowing ambient concentrations is only one of the building block in this quest. As long as individuals cannot avoid exposure e.g. in urban areas, knowing concentrations is not sufficient to reduce potential adverse effects. Yet, there are many situations and microenvironments, which individuals could avoid knowing the concentrations and also being aware of the risk caused by exposure to them. This includes for example to proximity to vehicle emissions, either for social purposes (e.g. street cafes) or exercising (e.g. walking or jogging along busy roads)or indoor environments affected by combustion emissions (smoking, candle burning, open fire).
| S-EPMC5825064 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BACKGROUND: Green spaces are reported to improve health status, including beneficial effects on pregnancy outcomes. Despite the suggestions of air pollution-related health benefits of green spaces, there is no available evidence on the impact of greenness on personal exposure to air pollution. OBJECTIVES: We investigated the association between surrounding greenness and personal exposure to air pollution among pregnant women and to explore the potential mechanisms, if any, behind this association. METHODS: In total, 65 rounds of sampling were carried out for 54 pregnant women who resided in Barcelona during 2008-2009. Each round consisted of a 2-day measurement of particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter ? 2.5 ?m (PM?.?) and a 1-week measurement of nitric oxides collected simultaneously at both the personal and microenvironmental levels. The study participants were also asked to fill out a time-microenvironment-activity diary during the sampling period. We used satellite retrievals to determine the surrounding greenness as the average of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) in a buffer of 100 m around each maternal residential address. We estimated the impact of surrounding greenness on personal exposure levels, home-outdoor and home-indoor pollutant levels, and maternal time-activity. RESULTS: Higher residential surrounding greenness was associated with lower personal, home-indoor, and home-outdoor PM?.? levels, and more time spent at home-outdoor. CONCLUSIONS: We found lower levels of personal exposure to air pollution among pregnant women residing in greener areas. This finding may be partly explained by lower home-indoor pollutant levels and more time spent in less polluted home-outdoor environment by pregnant women in greener areas.
| S-EPMC3440116 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Air pollution may increase cardiovascular and respiratory risk through inflammatory pathways, but evidence for acute effects has been weak and indirect. Between December 2014 and July 2015, we enrolled 36 healthy, nonsmoking college students for a panel study in Shanghai, China, a city with highly variable levels of air pollution. We measured personal exposure to particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to 2.5 ?m (PM2.5) continuously for 72 hours preceding each of 4 clinical visits that included phlebotomy. We measured 4 inflammation proteins and DNA methylation at nearby regulatory cytosine-phosphate-guanine (CpG) loci. We applied linear mixed-effect models to examine associations over various lag times. When results suggested mediation, we evaluated methylation as mediator. Increased PM2.5 concentration was positively associated with all 4 inflammation proteins and negatively associated with DNA methylation at regulatory loci for tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-?) and soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1. A 10-?g/m3 increase in average PM2.5 during the 24 hours preceding blood draw corresponded to a 4.4% increase in TNF-? and a statistically significant decrease in methylation at one of the two studied candidate CpG loci for TNF-?. Epigenetics may play an important role in mediating effects of PM2.5 on inflammatory pathways.
| S-EPMC5860518 | biostudies-literature