New SoGA 2025 Report

The report covers global air quality and health impacts, including data on noncommunicable diseases.
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Research Reports

HEI’s mission is to provide credible science to support environmental regulations and other policy decisions. The results of each HEI-funded project undergo peer-review by outside scientists and the Health Review Committee. The HEI Research Reports contain the Investigator’s Report and the Review Committee’s evaluation of the study, summarized in a Commentary or short Critique.

ISSN 1041-5505 (print)        ISSN 2688-6855 (online) 

Comparison of Long-Term Air Pollution Exposure from Mobile and Routine Monitoring, Low-Cost Sensors, and Dispersion Models

Research Report 226
Gerard Hoek
Femke Bouma
Nicole Janssen
Joost Wesseling
Sjoerd van Ratingen
Jules Kerckhoffs
et al.
2025
Topics: 
Particulate Matter
Traffic-related
Exposure Methods

This report presents a study led by Gerard Hoek at Utrecht University, the Netherlands. Hoek and colleagues compared the performance of a suite of long-term exposure assessment models in the Netherlands for four air pollutants: ultrafine particles, black carbon, fine particulate matter, and nitrogen dioxide.

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Air Pollution Exposure, Prefrontal Connectivity, and Emotional Behavior in Early Adolescence

Research Report 225
Megan Herting
Elisabeth Burnor
Hedyeh Ahmadi
Sandrah P Eckel
William Gauderman
Joel Schwartz
et al.
2025
Topics: 
Nitrogen Oxides
Particulate Matter

This report presents a study led by Megan Herting of the University of Southern California, a recipient of HEI’s 2019 Walter A. Rosenblith New Investigator Award. Herting and colleagues examined whether childhood and prenatal exposure to residential outdoor fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) was associated with neurodevelopment over a 1-year period in a nationally representative cohort of children ages 9–10 in the United States.

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Effect of Air Pollution Reductions on Mortality During the COVID-19 Lockdowns in Early 2020

Research Report 224
Kai Chen
Yiqun Ma
Anne Marb
Federica Nobile
Robert Dubrow
Massimo Stafoggia
et al.
2025
Topics: 
Nitrogen Oxides
Particulate Matter
Accountability

This report presents a study led by Kai Chen of the Yale School of Public Health. Chen and colleagues used the unique scenario of COVID-19 lockdowns in early 2020 to understand how a pause in human activity might affect day-to-day changes in air pollution and the resulting effects on health.

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Impacts of Vehicle Emission Regulations and Local Congestion Policies on Birth Outcomes Associated with Traffic Air Pollution

Research Report 223
Perry Hystad
Mary Willis
Elaine Hill
David Schrank
John Molitor
Andrew Larkin
et al.
2025
Topics: 
Traffic-related
Accountability

This report presents a study led by Perry Hystad of Oregon State University. Hystad and colleagues examined whether reductions in traffic-related air pollution were associated with improved birth outcomes in Texas from 1996 to 2016.

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