The longitudinal relationships between the built and natural environment, air pollution, noise and dementia: results from two UK-based cohort studies.

Objective: Recent epidemiological studies have investigated a variety of environmental risk factors for dementia. However, most existing studies have focused on single environmental factors and reported mixed results. The aim of this study is to examine the interrelationships between multiple environment factors and their joint associations with cognitive health in later life.

Measurement error correction methods for the effects of ambient air pollution on mortality and morbidity using the UK Biobank cohort: the MELONS study.

Epidemiological cohort studies associating long-term exposure to ambient air pollution with health outcomes most often do not account for individually assigned exposure measurement error. Here, we implemented Cox proportional hazards models to explore the relationships between NO, PM and ozone exposures with the incidence of natural-cause mortality and several morbidity outcomes in 61,797 London-dwelling respondents of the UK Biobank cohort. Data from an existing personal monitoring campaign was used as an external validation dataset to estimate measurement error structures between "true" personal exposure and several surrogate (measured and modelled) estimates of assigned exposure, allowing for the application of two health effect estimate correction methodologies: regression calibration (RCAL) and simulation extrapolation (SIMEX).

Estimating exposure to pollutants generated from indoor and outdoor sources within vulnerable populations using personal air quality monitors: A London case study.

Personal exposure to air pollution can originate from indoor or outdoor sources, depending on location and activity. This study aimed to quantify personal exposure from each source separately, allowing comparison of the associated epidemiological estimates from each source type. We utilised 12,901 participant-day personal measurements of exposure to multiple pollutants collected from 344 London dwelling participants of four panel studies conducted between 2015 and 2019.

West London Healthy Home and Environment (WellHome) Study: Protocol for a Community-Based Study Investigating Exposures Across the Indoor-Outdoor Air Pollution Continuum in Urban Communities.

The relationship between indoor air quality and public health remains under-researched. WellHome is a transdisciplinary community-based study that will engage with residents to co-design feasible and acceptable research to quantify air pollution exposure in 100 homes in West London and examine its potential to exacerbate asthma symptoms in children. Sampling strategies such as using air quality monitors and passive samplers placed in kitchens, children's bedrooms, and living rooms, will be developed in collaboration with local ambassadors and participating households to measure multiple physical, chemical, microplastic, and biological contaminants.

Characterising Carbon Monoxide Household Exposure and Health Impacts in High- and Middle-Income Countries-A Rapid Literature Review, 2010-2024.

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a toxic gas, and faulty gas appliances or solid fuel burning with incomplete combustion are possible CO sources in households. Evaluating household CO exposure models and measurement studies is key to understanding where CO exposures may result in adverse health outcomes. This assists the assessment of the burden of disease in high- and middle-income countries and informs public health interventions in higher-risk environments.

European Respiratory Society Research Seminar on Preventing Pediatric Asthma.

This report is a summary of the presentations given at the European Respiratory Society's Research Seminar on Asthma Prevention. The seminar reviewed both epidemiological and mechanistic studies and concluded that; (i) reducing exposure of pregnant women and children to air pollution will reduce incident asthma, (ii) there are promising data that both fish oil and a component of raw cow's milk prevent asthma, and (iii) modulating trained immunity by either mimicking helminth infection or oral and sublingual bacterial products is a promising area of research.

Air pollution and respiratory health in patients with COPD: should we focus on indoor or outdoor sources?

Introduction: While associations between ambient air pollution and respiratory health in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients are well studied, little is known about individuals' personal exposure to pollution and associated health effects by source.

Aim: To separate measured total personal exposure into indoor-generated and outdoor-generated pollution and use these improved metrics in health models for establishing more reliable associations with exacerbations and respiratory symptoms.

Methods: We enrolled a panel of 76 patients with COPD and continuously measured their personal exposure to particles and gaseous pollutants and location with portable monitors for 134 days on average.

Air pollution, traffic noise, mental health, and cognitive development: A multi-exposure longitudinal study of London adolescents in the SCAMP cohort.

Background: There is increasing evidence that air pollution and noise may have detrimental psychological impacts, but there are few studies evaluating adolescents, ground-level ozone exposure, multi-exposure models, or metrics beyond outdoor residential exposure. This study aimed to address these gaps.

Methods: Annual air pollution and traffic noise exposure at home and school were modelled for adolescents in the Greater London SCAMP cohort (N=7555).

Short-term air pollution and greenness exposures on oxidative stress in urban and peri-urban residents in Beijing: A part of AIRLESS study.

Background: Exposure to air pollution has been associated with increased risks of cardiopulmonary diseases, cancer, and mortality, whereas residing near green spaces may reduce the risks. However, limited research explores their combined effect on oxidative stress.

Methods: A total of 251 participants with multi-time measurements were included in the longitudinal-designed study.

The PRECISE-DYAD protocol: linking maternal and infant health trajectories in sub-Saharan Africa.

Background: PRECISE-DYAD is an observational cohort study of mother-child dyads running in urban and rural communities in The Gambia and Kenya. The cohort is being followed for two years and includes uncomplicated pregnancies and those that suffered pregnancy hypertension, fetal growth restriction, preterm birth, and/or stillbirth.

Methods: The PRECISE-DYAD study will follow up ~4200 women and their children recruited into the original PRECISE study.

The longitudinal associations between ambient air pollution exposure and dementia in the UK: results from the cognitive function and ageing study II and Wales.

Background: Air pollution has been recognised as a potential risk factor for dementia. Yet recent epidemiological research shows mixed evidence. The aim of this study is to investigate the longitudinal associations between ambient air pollution exposure and dementia in older people across five urban and rural areas in the UK.

Characterising sources of PM exposure for school children with asthma: a personal exposure study across six cities in sub-Saharan Africa.

Background: Air pollution is the second largest risk to health in Africa, and children with asthma are particularly susceptible to its effects. Yet, there is a scarcity of air pollution exposure data from cities in sub-Saharan Africa. We aimed to identify potential exposure reduction strategies for school children with asthma living in urban areas in sub-Saharan Africa.

Early detection of COPD patients' symptoms with personal environmental sensors: a remote sensing framework using probabilistic latent component analysis with linear dynamic systems.

In this study, we present a cohort study involving 106 COPD patients using portable environmental sensor nodes with attached air pollution sensors and activity-related sensors, as well as daily symptom records and peak flow measurements to monitor patients' activity and personal exposure to air pollution. This is the first study which attempts to predict COPD symptoms based on personal air pollution exposure. We developed a system that can detect COPD patients' symptoms one day in advance of symptoms appearing.

Automated classification of time-activity-location patterns for improved estimation of personal exposure to air pollution.

Background: Air pollution epidemiology has primarily relied on measurements from fixed outdoor air quality monitoring stations to derive population-scale exposure. Characterisation of individual time-activity-location patterns is critical for accurate estimations of personal exposure and dose because pollutant concentrations and inhalation rates vary significantly by location and activity.

Methods: We developed and evaluated an automated model to classify major exposure-related microenvironments (home, work, other static, in-transit) and separated them into indoor and outdoor locations, sleeping activity and five modes of transport (walking, cycling, car, bus, metro/train) with multidisciplinary methods from the fields of movement ecology and artificial intelligence.

What you see is what you breathe? Estimating air pollution spatial variation using street level imagery.

High spatial resolution information on urban air pollution levels is unavailable in many areas globally, partially due to high input data needs of existing estimation approaches. Here we introduce a computer vision method to estimate annual means for air pollution levels from street level images. We used annual mean estimates of NO and PM concentrations from locally calibrated models as labels from London, New York, and Vancouver to allow for compilation of a sufficiently large dataset (~250k images for each city).

Partitioning indoor-generated and outdoor-generated PM from real-time residential measurements in urban and peri-urban Beijing.

Limited number of projects have attempted to partition and quantify indoor- and outdoor-generated PM (PM and PM) where strong indoor sources (e.g., solid fuel, tobacco smoke, or kerosene) exist.

Development and Evaluation of Spatio-Temporal Air Pollution Exposure Models and Their Combinations in the Greater London Area, UK.

Land use regression (LUR) and dispersion/chemical transport models (D/CTMs) are frequently applied to predict exposure to air pollution concentrations at a fine scale for use in epidemiological studies. Moreover, the use of satellite aerosol optical depth data has been a key predictor especially for particulate matter pollution and when studying large populations. Within the STEAM project we present a hybrid spatio-temporal modeling framework by (a) incorporating predictions from dispersion modeling of nitrogen dioxide (NO), ozone (O) and particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter equal or less than 10 μm (PM10) and less than 2.

Comparing human exposure to fine particulate matter in low and high-income countries: A systematic review of studies measuring personal PM exposure.

Background: Due to the adverse health effects of air pollution, researchers have advocated for personal exposure measurements whereby individuals carry portable monitors in order to better characterise and understand the sources of people's pollution exposure.

Objectives: The aim of this systematic review is to assess the differences in the magnitude and sources of personal PM exposures experienced between countries at contrasting levels of income.

Methods: This review summarised studies that measured participants personal exposure by carrying a PM monitor throughout their typical day.

Identifying trends in ultrafine particle infiltration and carbon dioxide ventilation in 92 vehicle models.

There has been ongoing research aimed at reducing pollution concentrations in vehicles due to the high exposure which occurs in this setting. These studies have found using recirculate (RC) settings substantially reduces in-cabin traffic-related pollution concentrations but possibly leads to an adverse accumulation of carbon dioxide (CO) from driver respiration. The aim of this study was to highlight how vehicle models and ventilation settings affect in-cabin concentrations to ultrafine particles (UFP) and CO in real-world conditions.

Nitrogen oxides (NO and NO) pollution in the Accra metropolis: Spatiotemporal patterns and the role of meteorology.

Economic and urban development in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) may be shifting the dominant air pollution sources in cities from biomass to road traffic. Considered as a marker for traffic-related air pollution in cities, we conducted a city-wide measurement of NO levels in the Accra Metropolis and examined their spatiotemporal patterns in relation to land use and meteorological factors. Between April 2019 to June 2020, we collected weekly integrated NO (n = 428) and NO (n = 472) samples at 10 fixed (year-long) and 124 rotating (week-long) sites.

Spatial-temporal patterns of ambient fine particulate matter (PM) and black carbon (BC) pollution in Accra.

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is rapidly urbanizing, and ambient air pollution has emerged as a major environmental health concern in growing cities. Yet, effective air quality management is hindered by limited data. We deployed robust, low-cost and low-power devices in a large-scale measurement campaign and characterized within-city variations in fine particulate matter (PM) and black carbon (BC) pollution in Accra, Ghana.

The state of science on severe air pollution episodes: Quantitative and qualitative analysis.

Severe episodic air pollution blankets entire cities and regions and have a profound impact on humans and their activities. We compiled daily fine particle (PM) data from 100 cities in five continents, investigated the trends of number, frequency, and duration of pollution episodes, and compared these with the baseline trend in air pollution. We showed that the factors contributing to these events are complex; however, long-term measures to abate emissions from all anthropogenic sources at all times is also the most efficient way to reduce the occurrence of severe air pollution events.

"I am an air quality scientist"- Using citizen science to characterise school children's exposure to air pollution.

Children are particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects of air pollution. To tackle this issue and implement effective strategies to reduce child exposure, it is important to understand how children are exposed to this risk. This study followed a citizen science approach to air pollution monitoring, aiming to characterise school children's exposure to air pollution and to analyse how a citizen science approach to data collection could contribute to and enhance the research process.

Characterising professional drivers' exposure to traffic-related air pollution: Evidence for reduction strategies from in-vehicle personal exposure monitoring.

Professional drivers working in congested urban areas are required to work near harmful traffic related pollutants for extended periods, representing a significant, but understudied occupational risk. This study collected personal black carbon (BC) exposures for 141 drivers across seven sectors in London. The aim of the study was to assess the magnitude and the primary determinants of their exposure, leading to the formulation of targeted exposure reduction strategies for the occupation.

Personal exposure to air pollution and respiratory health of COPD patients in London.

Previous studies have investigated the effects of air pollution on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients using either fixed-site measurements or a limited number of personal measurements, usually for one pollutant and a short time period. These limitations may introduce bias and distort the epidemiological associations as they do not account for all the potential sources or the temporal variability of pollution.We used detailed information on individuals' exposure to various pollutants measured at fine spatiotemporal scale to obtain more reliable effect estimates.