Health Effects Institute 2016 Annual Conference

Corwin Zigler and Francesca Dominici, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Causal modeling techniques have been proposed as alternatives to conventional epidemiological methods for making inferences about the relationships between air pollution exposures and public health outcomes. This workshop aims to provide attendees with a basic introduction to causal modeling methods and, drawing on details from recent HEI-funded research, with useful insights into the conceptual benefits and practical challenges in their application and interpretation. The pre-conference workshop is open to all conference attendees.

Chairs: Warren Washington, National Center for Atmospheric Research and HEI Board of Directors, and Jana Milford, University of Colorado–Boulder and HEI Review Committee

Air pollution and climate are intricately linked. Changes in global climate may alter temperature, precipitation, wildfire, and dust storm patterns, all of which may affect air pollution and public health. Correspondingly, air pollutant levels may affect climate. Regulations aimed at reducing specific air pollutants could either work in concert with or counteract efforts to reduce potential climate-forcing agents. This session will explore recent developments in climate research, including health effects from heat, droughts, and forest fires, and how air pollution and climate interact.

Chairs: David Eaton, University of Washington–Seattle and Chair of the HEI Research Committee, and James Merchant, University of Iowa and Chair of the HEI Review Committee

HEI will present progress of its research programs and publications. Highlights will include updates of HEI’s recent work on diesel exhaust and plans for new research on 21st century oil and gas development. We will also introduce the recipient of the 2015 Walter A. Rosenblith New Investigator Award.

Chairs: Amy Herring, University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill and HEI Research Committee, and Roger Peng, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and HEi Review Committee

Although levels are declining in high-income regions, epidemiological studies continue to report associations of air pollution with adverse health effects in the general population even at levels below current air quality standards, providing a continuing impetus for lower standards. This session will review those epidemiological studies, highlight HEI’s new efforts on this topic, and discuss critical study design considerations and challenges that the studies will need to confront.

Chairs: Michal Krzyzanowski, King's College, London, and Terry Keating, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2013 study estimated that exposure to fine particulate air pollution contributed to some 2.9 million premature deaths in 2013, with nearly two-thirds of those deaths occurring in China, India, and other developing Asian countries. This session will present the most recent estimates of the burden due to air pollution in 2013 and trends from 1990 to 2013, and new estimates of current and future projected burden of disease from coal-burning and other major sources in China and India from HEI’s GBD MAPS project.

Chairs: David Christiani, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health and HEI Research Committee, and Lianne Sheppard, University of Washington–Seattle and HEI Review Committee

Many areas struggle to meet the ozone standard, and changing climate and emissions profiles for ozone precursors paint a complicated picture. HEI recently completed the Multicenter Ozone Study in Elderly Subjects (MOSES) of cardiovascular effects at low exposures of ozone. We will discuss the science behind the 2015 ozone regulations in the United States and the current knowledge base linking ozone to cardiovascular and respiratory effects, based on the results of MOSES and other human clinical studies. The session will conclude with comments from the MOSES Review Panel and the public.

Chairs: Barbara Hoffmann, University of Düsseldorf, Germany, and Jeffrey Brook, Environment Canada; both on HEI Research Committee

This session will explore important factors related to the design and interpretation of health studies of traffic-related air pollution. It is intended to build on the findings of HEI’s previous work and to lay the groundwork for upcoming deliberations on research needs in this area. Speakers will discuss differences in traffic and vehicle mixes around the world, and the complex interactions between socioeconomic status (SES) and traffic noise in health studies of traffic-related air pollution.