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Air Pollution

This page has a list of publications and news articles related to Air Pollution. Find more information about our research on Air Pollution.

In this issue of Update, read about a major HEI study in Europe that found evidence of health effects at low levels of air pollution; a new Board Chair; our first-ever Director of Science Communications; steps HEI is taking toward diversity, equity, and inclusion; the launch of new studies on wildfires and the effectiveness of air quality policies, and more.

Research Report 208
Bert Brunekreef
Maciej Strak
Jie Chen
Zorana J Andersen
Richard Atkinson
Mariska Bauwelinck
et al.
2021

Research Report 208 presents a study by Bert Brunekreef at the Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Utrecht University, the Netherlands, and colleagues examining associations between exposures to relatively low levels of air pollution below the current EU standards and several health outcomes among participants in 22 European cohorts. 
 

Research Report 206
Jane E Clougherty
Jamie L Humphrey
Ellen J Kinnee
Lucy F Robinson
Leslie A McClure
Laura D Kubzansky
Colleen E Reid
2021

Research Report 206 presents a study led by Dr. Jane Clougherty at Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University. Clougherty and colleagues examined whether associations between community- and individual-level cardiovascular disease events and ambient air pollutants vary by social stressors.  

Research Report 205
Ying-Ying Meng
Jason G Su
Xiao Chen
John Molitor
Dahai Yue
Michael Jerrett
2021

Research Report 205 presents a study led by Ying-Ying Meng and colleagues at the University of California, Los Angeles, examining the impact of the 2006 California Goods Movement Plan on air quality and healthcare utilization among adults with chronic health conditions who were enrolled in California’s healthcare program for low-income individuals (Medi-Cal).

Annual Report 2020
Health Effects Institute
2021
Topics: 

The HEI Annual Report for 2020, Valuing Science, Informing Decisions, describes how HEI provides high quality, impartial, and relevant science to inform public policy on air quality and public health. The report highlights HEI’s latest achievements and initiatives.

Research Report 201
Lydia M Contreras
Juan C Gonzalez-Rivera
Kevin C Baldridge
Dongyu S Wang
Jamie CL Chuvalo-Abraham
Lea Hildebrandt Ruiz
2020

Research Report 201 presents a study led by Dr. Lydia Contreras at the University of Texas, Austin, who is a recipient of HEI’s Walter A. Rosenblith New Investigator Award. Dr. Contreras and colleagues evaluated how exposure of lung cells to volatile organic compounds plus ozone affects oxidation of ribonucleic acid, a key component of cells. The study aimed to improve understanding of the biological mechanisms by which air pollutants can cause effects in human health, thereby expanding our knowledge of potential causal links between exposure and health.

Research Report 192, Part 2
David Q Rich
Mark W Frampton
John R Balmes
Philip A Bromberg
Mehrdad Arjomandi
Milan J Hazucha
Sally W Thurston
Neil E Alexis
Peter Ganz
Wojciech Zareba
Petros Koutrakis
Kelly Thevenet-Morrison
2020

Research Report 192, Part 2, describes the second part of the Multicenter Ozone Study in oldEr Subjects (MOSES), led by Drs. David Rich and Mark Frampton of the University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, New York. Part 1 of the MOSES study, Effects of Exposure to Low Concentrations of Ozone on Respiratory and Cardiovascular Outcomes, was published in 2017; Part 2 presents additional analyses.

Annual Report 2019
Health Effects Institute
2020
Topics: 

The 2019 Annual Report, A Window to Trusted Science, describes how HEI provides high quality, impartial, and relevant science informing public policy on air quality and public health, and continues its longstanding commitment to transparency.

Special Report 22
Yan Zhang
Junlan Feng
Cong Liu
Junri Zhao
Weichun Ma
Cheng Huang
Jingyu An
Yin Shen
Qingyan Fu
Shuxiao Wang
Dian Ding
Wangqi Ge
Freda Fung
Kethural Manokaran
Allison P. Patton
Katherine Walker
Haidong Kan
2019

Special Report 22 describes a study led by a team of investigators from Fudan and Tsinghua Universities, other Chinese research institutions, and HEI scientists Allison Patton and Katherine Walker, as part of HEI’s Global Health Program. The report provides an analysis of emissions from shipping and related activities and their impacts on air quality and health in the Yangtze River Delta and Shanghai.

Research Report 203
Michael Brauer
Jeffrey R. Brook
Tanya Christidis
Yen Chu
Dan Crouse
Anders Erickson
Perry Hystad
Chi Li
Randall V Martin
Jun Meng
Amanda J. Pappin
Lauren L. Pinault
Michael Tjepkema
Aaron van Donkelaar
Scott Weichenthal
Richard T Burnett
2019

Research Report 203 describes the first-phase results of a study evaluating the relationship between long-term exposure to low concentrations of PM2.5 and non-accidental mortality, including a characterization of the shape of the concentration–response functions, in a large population-based cohort (~9 million adults) in Canada. The report also presents the detailed Commentary on the study by HEI’s Low-Exposure Epidemiology Studies Review Panel.