Publications

This issue of Update reports on a new study that explored the impact of Southern California air-quality regulations on children’s health; launch of the redesigned HEI Web site; new HEI Review Committee member Jennifer Peel; upcoming requests for applications; the sharing of HEI science at major Asian and European conferences; and HEI in the News.

Special Report 20, Burden of Disease Attributable to Coal-Burning and Other Major Sources of Air Pollution in China, provides the first comprehensive assessment of the current and predicted burdens of disease attributable to coal-burning and other major sources of particulate matter air pollution (PM_2.5) in China at the national and provincial levels. It is the result of the Global Burden of Disease – Major Air Pollution Sources (GDB MAPS) project, an international collaboration of Tsinghua University, the Health Effects Institute, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), and the University of British Columbia. The analyses show that coal combustion is the single largest source of air pollution-related health impact, contributing to some 366,000 premature deaths in China in 2013, with industry and household combustion as major contributors as well. The report also indicates that health burdens could grow substantially by 2030 if no further action is taken. 燃煤和其他主要大气污染源所致的中国疾病负担 (Special Report 20 in Chinese)

HEI Research Report 188 analyzes associations between increases in various air pollution exposure metrics and increased risks of preterm birth. Jun Wu was funded under HEI's Walter A. Rosenblith New Investigator Award to conduct a comprehensive nested, case-control study of air pollution and adverse birth and pregnancy outcomes, using birth certificate data collected in California from 2001 to 2008. 

Using data from four previously completed studies (two panel studies and two controlled-exposure studies), David Rich and Annette Peters and their teams investigated potential mechanisms behind the effects of short-term exposure to PM_2.5 and ultrafine particles on changes in cardiac rhythm, including heart rate variability and other ECG parameters.