14-3 Assessing Health Effects of Long-term Exposure to Low Levels of Ambient Air Pollution

Research Report 203 describes the first-phase results of a study evaluating the relationship between long-term exposure to low concentrations of PM_2.5 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.

This report presents a comprehensive HEI study examining potential health risks from low levels of air pollution exposure in millions of Canadian citizens. Michael Brauer at The University of British Columbia and his colleagues combined satellite data, air monitor sampling, and atmospheric modeling to estimate outdoor PM_2.5 exposures across Canada from 1981 to 2016.

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 200 describes the first-phase results of a study examining any association between exposure to low levels of air pollution — both PM_2.5 and O₃ — and all-cause mortality in a population of 61 million Medicare enrollees residing in the continental United States. The report also presents the detailed Commentary on the study by HEI’s Low-Exposure Epidemiology Studies Review Panel.

Research Report 211 presents a major HEI study by Dr. Francesca Dominici of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and colleagues. The investigators examined the risk of mortality associated with exposure to low ambient air pollution concentrations in a cohort of 68.5 million older Americans.