Research Reports

Research Report 195 describes a study led by Ted Russell at the Georgia Institute of Technology as part of HEI’s Accountability Research Program. Dr. Russell and colleagues examined the extent to which regulations targeting power plants and mobile sources in the Atlanta area were effective in improving air quality and ultimately reducing cardiorespiratory emergency department visits.

Research Report 193 describes a novel study by Jiu-Chiuan Chen and colleagues examining possible associations between long-term exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM) and changes in the brains of older women in the United States. The study focused on brain volumes and neurocognitive outcomes, specifically mild cognitive impairment and dementia. Dr. Chen used neuroimaging and cognitive outcome data from women enrolled in the Women’s Health Initiative Memory Study and estimated their exposure to ambient PM_2.5 and to diesel PM.

Research Report 191 describes a study by Allison Fryer and colleagues that addressed how exposure to ozone affects the immune and physiological responses in guinea pigs. In her study, Dr. Fryer focused on eosinophils, white blood cells that play an important role in inflammation, allergies, and allergic asthma, and can modify the airway response to ozone inhalation. This study tested a novel hypothesis: that allergic guinea pigs react differently to ozone than normal animals because of newly formed eosinophils that migrate from bone marrow to the lungs.

HEI Research Report 189 describes a study by Dr. Zhengmin Qian conducted in Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei province in China. Wuhan experiences temperature extremes and generally has higher air pollution levels than those seen in the United States and Europe. Dr. Qian examined whether increased exposures to air pollutants (particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and ozone) during vulnerable pregnancy periods were associated with increased rates of preterm birth, low birth weight, or intrauterine growth retardation, using both a cohort and nested case-control design.