Exposure to air pollution and self-reported effects on Chinese students: A case study of 13 megacities

Abstract

Air pollution causes severe physical and psychological health complications. Considering China’s continuously-deteriorating air quality, this study aimed to assess the self-reported effects of air pollution on the behavior and physical health of the students of 13 densely populated cities, and their awareness, practices, and perception of air pollution and its associated public health risks. A detailed, closed-ended questionnaire was administered to 2100 students from 54 universities and schools across China. The questionnaire, which had 24 questions, was categorized into four sections. The first two sections were focused on air pollution-associated behavior and psychology, and physical effects; while the final two sections focused on the subjects’ awareness and perceptions, and practices and concerns about air pollution. The respondents reported that long-term exposure to air pollution had significantly affected their psychology and behavior, as well as their physical health. The respondents were aware of the different adverse impacts of air pollution (respiratory infections, allergies, and cardiovascular problems), and hence had adopted different preventive measures, such as the use of respiratory masks and glasses or goggles, regularly drinking water, and consuming rich foods. It was concluded that air pollution and haze had negative physical and psychological effects on the respondents, which led to severe changes in behavior. Proper management, future planning, and implementing strict environmental laws are suggested before this problem worsens and becomes life-threatening.

The Influence of Environmental Factors on College Students’ Online Catering Ordering

“…A large number of studies have shown that air pollution, especially smog pollution, can greatly affect people's behavior and psychology, such as reducing people's outdoor activities, increasing people's discomfort, causing irritability, depression, etc. [11,12]. These behavioral and psychological changes will significantly affect people's consumption behavior.…”

“…Numerous studies have shown that smog pollution not only affects people's health, increases the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, cancer, etc. [9,10], but also significantly affects people's behavior [11,12]. When air pollution is severe, people are more willing to stay indoors and reduce the time of outdoor activities [11].…”

“…[9,10], but also significantly affects people's behavior [11,12]. When air pollution is severe, people are more willing to stay indoors and reduce the time of outdoor activities [11]. Therefore, we can also expect that as air pollution intensifies, online catering sales will continue to increase.…”

Perceived Health Risks of Exposure to Indoor Air Pollution from Cooking Fuels in Sindh, Pakistan

“…However, [26] revealed the vulnerable population clusters based on innate factors, integrated environmental, social or behavioral factors and unusually high exposures. Likewise, [27] depicted that long-term exposure to air pollution on Chinese students had a robust effect on their behavior and psychology along with their physical health. However, the behavioral health effects were recorded on a Likert scale for various behaviors, i.e., difficulty in concentration, feeling dry, dizziness, nausea, noticeable odors, highstress levels, fatigue/drowsiness, too hot temperature, and too cold temperature, which were grouped and denoted as "B".…”

Exposure to PM2.5 during pregnancy or lactation increases methylation while reducing the expression of Pdx1 and NEUROG3 in mouse pancreatic islets

“…PM concentrations are particularly elevated in some developing countries, where they were shown to be well above the upper limit recommended by the World Health Organization's guidelines [5], thus being regarded as a hazard to the health and the quality of life of people living in such areas [1,6].…”