New report on examining mobility in air pollution exposure estimates

HEI has published a new Research Report, Accounting for Mobility in Air Pollution Exposure Estimates in Studies on Long-Term Health Effects. This study led by Kees de Hoogh at Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, evaluated whether long-term exposure estimates that account for people’s mobility would improve exposure assessment, using novel agent-based modeling.

Here are the key findings from the report:

• The investigators compared residential only and mobility-enhanced estimates of exposure to nitrogen dioxide and fine particulate matter in three adult cohort studies in Switzerland and the Netherlands.
• Similar associations were reported between residential and mobility-enhanced exposure estimates and various health outcomes, and the estimates themselves were highly correlated.
• The results suggest that the bias in epidemiological studies based on outdoor concentrations at residential locations might be small and that accounting for mobility might not be important.

Read the Report