In this study, long-term aerosol particle total number concentration measurements in five metropolitan areas across Europe are presented. The measurements have been carried out in Augsburg, Barcelona, Helsinki, Rome, and Stockholm using the same instrument, a condensation particle counter (TSI model 3022). The results show that in all of the studied cities, the winter concentrations are higher than the summer concentrations. In Helsinki and in Stockholm, winter concentrations are higher by a factor of two and in Augsburg almost by a factor of three compared with summer months. The winter maximum of the monthly average concentrations in these cities is between 10,000 cm Ϫ3 and 20,000 cm Ϫ3 , whereas the summer min is ϳ5000 -6000 cm Ϫ3 . In Rome and in Barcelona, the winters are more polluted compared with summers by as much as a factor of 4 -10. The winter maximum in both Rome and Barcelona is close to 100,000 cm Ϫ3 , whereas IMPLICATIONSThis manuscript gives an overview of aerosol particle number concentrations in five European cities over about a two-year period. These data are valuable for: (1) providing basic information about fine and ultrafine particulate pollution concentrations in European cities; (2) showing the diurnal and annual variation of the aerosol concentrations; (3) providing data for future legislation concerning the particulate pollution; and (4) giving a database that can be used in epidemiological studies related to aerosol particles and health effects.

Background: Associations between traffic noise and sleep problems have been detected in experimental studies, but population-level evidence is scarce.Objectives: We studied the relationship between the levels of nighttime traffic noise and sleep disturbances and identified vulnerable population groups.Methods: Noise levels of nighttime–outdoor traffic were modeled based on the traffic intensities in the cities of Helsinki and Vantaa, Finland. In these cities, 7,019 public sector employees (81% women) responded to postal surveys on sleep and health. We linked modeled outdoor noise levels to the residences of the employees who responded to the postal survey. We used logistic regression models to estimate associations of noise levels with subjectively assessed duration of sleep and symptoms of insomnia (i.e., difficulties falling asleep, waking up frequently during the night, waking up too early in the morning, nonrestorative sleep). We also used stratified models to investigate the possibility of vulnerable subgroups.Results: For the total study population, exposure to levels of nighttime–outside (Lnight, outside) traffic noise > 55 dB was associated with any insomnia symptom ≥ 2 nights per week [odds ratio (OR) = 1.32; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.05, 1.65]. Among participants with higher trait anxiety scores, which we hypothesized were a proxy for noise sensitivity, the ORs for any insomnia symptom at exposures to Lnight, outside traffic noises 50.1–55 dB and > 55 dB versus ≤ 45 dB were 1.34 (95% CI: 1.00, 1.80) and 1.61 (95% CI: 1.07, 2.42), respectively.Conclusions: Nighttime traffic noise levels > 50 dB Lnight, outside was associated with insomnia symptoms among persons with higher scores for trait anxiety. For the total study population, Lnight, outside > 55 dB was positively associated with any symptoms.

This study shows that road traffic noise >60 dB (compared to <45 dB) was associated with poor self-rated health in men, but not in women. This association was stronger among men with high trait anxiety scores. Noise levels were not associated with psychotropic medication use. Affiliation 235Original article Scand J Work Environ Health. 2014;40(3):235-243. doi:10.5271/sjweh.3408 Associations of traffic noise with self-rated health and psychotropic medication useby Jaana I Halonen, PhD, 1 Timo Lanki, PhD, PhD,2 Anu W Turunen, PhD, 2 Jaana Pentti, MSc, 1 Mika Kivimäki, PhD,1, 3 Jussi Vahtera, MD 1, 4 Halonen JI, Lanki T, Yli-Tuomi T, Turunen AW, Pentti J, Kivimäki M, Vahtera J. Associations of traffic noise with self-rated health and psychotropic medication use. Scand J Work Environ Health. 2014;40(3):235-243. doi:10.5271/sjweh.3408 Objectives Road traffic noise is a common environmental nuisance, which has been thought to increase the risk of many types of health problems. However, population-level evidence often remains scarce. This study examined whether road traffic noise is associated with self-rated health and use of psychotropic medication in a cohort of public sector employees.Methods Data are from the Finnish Public Sector Study cohort. Geographical information system (GIS) was used to link modeled outdoor road traffic noise levels (L den ) to residential addresses of 15 611 men and women with cross-sectional survey responses on self-rated health and register-based information on the use of antidepressants, anxiolytics, and hypnotics. High trait anxiety scores were used to identify potentially vulnerable individuals. The analyses were run with logistic regression models adjusting for individual and area-level variables. All participants were blind to the aim of the study. ResultsMean level of road traffic noise at participants' home addresses was 52 decibels (dB) (standard deviation 8.1). Noise level >60 dB versus ≤45 dB was associated with poor self-rated health in men [odds ratio (OR) 1.58, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.14-2.21]. Further stratification revealed that the association was evident only among men with high trait anxiety scores (OR 2.23, 95% CI 1.28-3.89). No association was found with psychotropic medication use or among women. ConclusionExposure to road traffic noise was not associated with increased use of psychotropic medication, although it was associated with weakened self-rated health among men.Key terms antidepressant; anxiety; cohort study; environmental noise; road traffic; trait anxiety; vulnerable. With ever increasing traffic volumes and urbanization, road traffic noise is already one of the most common environmental nuisances globally. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends noise levels of <50 decibels (dB) and <40 dB at day-and night-time, respectively, to limit public disturbance (1, 2). More recently, to identify populations exposed to high noise levels, the European Commission required environmental noise maps for urban areas with populations of >100...

Climate change is expected to increase heat-related and decrease cold-related mortality. The extent of acclimatization of the population to gradually-changing thermal conditions is not well understood. We aimed to define the relationship between mortality and temperature extremes in different age groups in the Helsinki-Uusimaa hospital district in Southern Finland, and changes in sensitivity of the population to temperature extremes over the period of 1972–2014. Time series of mortality were made stationary with a method that utilizes 365-day Gaussian smoothing, removes trends and seasonality, and gives relative mortality as the result. We used generalized additive models to examine the association of relative mortality to physiologically equivalent temperature (PET) and to air temperature in the 43-year study period and in two 21-year long sub-periods (1972–1992 and 1994–2014). We calculated the mean values of relative mortality in percentile-based categories of thermal indices. Relative mortality increases more in the hot than in the cold tail of the thermal distribution. The increase is strongest among those aged 75 years and older, but is somewhat elevated even among those younger than 65 years. Above the 99th percentile of the PET distribution, the all-aged relative mortality decreased in time from 18.3 to 8.6%. Among those ≥75 years old, the decrease in relative mortality between the sub-periods were found to be above the 90th percentile. The dependence of relative mortality on cold extremes was negligible, except among those ≥75 years old, in the latter period. Thus, heat-related mortality is also remarkable in Finland, but the sensitivity to heat stress has decreased over the decades.

BACKGROUND: C-reactive protein (CRP), a sensitive marker of the acute-phase response, has been associated with future cardiovascular endpoints independently of other risk factors. A joint analysis of the role of risk factors in predicting mean concentrations and variation of high-sensitivity CRP (hsCRP) in serum has not been carried out previously.