Overview of particulate air pollution and human health in China: Evidence, challenges, and opportunities

Zhang, Qingli; Meng, Xia; Shi, Sheng; Kan, Lena; Chen, Renjie; Kan, Haidong

doi:10.1016/j.xinn.2022.100312

Cited by 42 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 161 publications

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“…The underlying biological mechanism is that PM 1 or PM 0.1 could be more likely to reach the alveolar portion of the respiratory tract, irritating the alveolar walls and promoting oxidative stress and inflammation, thereby impairing lung function [ 32 , 33 ]. Moreover, PM 1 or PM 0.1 features a higher surface-to-volume ratio compared to PM 2.5 , and thus more toxins from human emissions can be attached [ 8 ]. From the view of public health interventions, more exposure-health research is of great necessity to better understand the children’s health risks correlated with ambient exposure to submicron and ultrafine particulate matter, given the extensive lack of national routine monitoring.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The cold-warm disparity highlighted the need for the government to take timely and targeted measures to further reduce peak season PM pollution in order to alleviate the related disease burden in children. In addition, personalized mitigation measures among children (particularly those with existing respiratory diseases) should also be strengthened, for example, by reducing time spent outside in the cold months or increasing intake of antioxidant polyunsaturated fatty acids and vitamins (e.g., more fish, fresh vegetables, and fruit) to mitigate the adverse effects of PM [ 8 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…During the past decade, emerging evidence emphasized elevated morbidity risks in children within a few hours after PM 2.5 exposure [ 5 ]. Meanwhile, present academic interest in submicron particulate matter (PM 1 , aerodynamic diameter ≤ 1 µm) [ 6 , 7 ], a predominant constituent of PM 2.5 , is ongoing, and accumulating evidence indicated greater health hazards among children related to exposure to smaller particles [ 8 ]. Despite this, the health effects of sub-daily PM 1 exposure on children remain largely unstudied due to scarce monitoring of ambient PM 1 across the globe.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Emergency Department Visits in Children Associated with Exposure to Ambient PM1 within Several Hours

Zhu

Wang

et al. 2023

IJERPH

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Background: Emerging evidence has integrated short-term exposure to PM1 with children’s morbidity and mortality. Nevertheless, most available studies have been conducted on a daily scale, ignoring the exposure variations over the span of a day. Objective: The main intention of this study was to examine the association between pediatric emergency department visits (PEDVs) and intra-day exposures to PM1 and PM2.5. We also aimed to investigate whether a high PM1/PM2.5 ratio elevated the risk of PEDVs independent from PM2.5 exposure within several hours. Methods: We collected hourly data on aerial PM1 and PM2.5 concentrations, all-cause PEDVs, and meteorological factors from two megacities (i.e., Guangzhou and Shenzhen) in southern China during 2015–2016. Time-stratified case-crossover design and conditional logistic regression analysis were used to assess the associations of PEDVs with exposures to PM1 and PM2.5 at different lag hours. The contribution of PM1 to PM2.5-associated risk was quantified by introducing PM1/PM2.5 ratio as an additional exposure indicator in the analysis adjusting for PM2.5. Subgroup analyses were performed stratified by sex, age, and season. Results: During this study period, 97,508 and 101,639 children were included from Guangzhou and Shenzhen, respectively. PM1 and PM2.5 exposures within several hours were both remarkably related to an increased risk of PEDVs. Risks for PEDVs increased by 3.9% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.7–5.0%) in Guangzhou and 3.2% (95% CI: 1.9–4.4%) in Shenzhen for each interquartile range (Guangzhou: 21.4 μg/m3, Shenzhen: 15.9 μg/m3) increase in PM1 at lag 0–3 h, respectively. A high PM1/PM2.5 ratio was substantially correlated with increased PEDVs, with an excess risk of 2.6% (95% CI: 1.2–4.0%) at lag 73–96 h in Guangzhou and 1.2% (95% CI: 0.4–2.0%) at lag 0–3 h in Shenzhen. Stratified analysis showed a clear seasonal pattern in PM-PEDVs relationships, with notably stronger risks in cold months (October to March of the following year) than in warm months (April to September). Conclusions: Exposures to ambient PM1 and PM2.5 within several hours were related to increased PEDVs. A high PM1/PM2.5 ratio may contribute an additional risk independent from the short-term impacts of PM2.5. These findings highlighted the significance of reducing PM1 in minimizing health risks due to PM2.5 exposure in children.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Emergency Department Visits in Children Associated with Exposure to Ambient PM1 within Several Hours

Zhu

Wang

et al. 2023

IJERPH

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“…China's urbanization and ecological civilization construction processes remain to be synchronized, which has indirectly resulted in the integration and complication of influenza-influencing factors and the generation of numerous potential health-related crises within the population (3, 4). Historical experience has shown that widespread epidemics of infectious diseases, such as influenza, are often exacerbated by the polluted air environment (5). Air pollutants are plausible biological factors explaining the occurrence of influenza cases.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influenza incidence and air pollution: Findings from a four-year surveillance study of prefecture-level cities in China

Wang

Zhang

Song

2022

Front. Public Health

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BackgroundInfluenza is a serious public health problem, and its prevalence and spread show significant spatiotemporal characteristics. Previous studies have found that air pollutants are linked to an increased risk of influenza. However, the mechanism of influence and the degree of their association have not been determined. This study aimed to determine the influence of the air environment on the spatiotemporal distribution of influenza.MethodsThe kernel density estimation and Getis-Ord Gi* statistic were used to analyze the spatial distribution of the influenza incidence and air pollutants in China. A simple analysis of the correlation between influenza and air pollutants was performed using Spearman's correlation coefficients. A linear regression analysis was performed to examine changes in the influenza incidence in response to air pollutants. The sensitivity of the influenza incidence to changes in air pollutants was evaluated by performing a gray correlation analysis. Lastly, the entropy weight method was used to calculate the weight coefficient of each method and thus the comprehensive sensitivity of influenza incidence to six pollution elements.ResultsThe results of the sensitivity analysis using Spearman's correlation coefficients showed the following ranking of the contributions of the air pollutants to the influenza incidence in descending order: SO2 >NO2 >CO> PM2.5 >O3 >PM10. The sensitivity results obtained from the linear regression analysis revealed the following ranking: CO>NO2 >SO2 >O3 >PM2.5 >PM10. Lastly, the sensitivity results obtained from the gray correlation analysis showed the following ranking: NO2 >CO>PM10 >PM2.5 >SO2 >O3. According to the sensitivity score, the study area can be divided into hypersensitive, medium-sensitive, and low-sensitive areas.ConclusionThe influenza incidence showed a strong spatial correlation and associated sensitivity to changes in concentrations of air pollutants. Hypersensitive areas were mainly located in the southeastern part of northeastern China, the coastal areas of the Yellow River Basin, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and surrounding areas, and the Yangtze River Delta. The influenza incidence was most sensitive to CO, NO2, and SO2, with the occurrence of influenza being most likely in areas with elevated concentrations of these three pollutants. Therefore, the formulation of targeted influenza prevention and control strategies tailored for hypersensitive, medium-sensitive, low-sensitive, and insensitive areas are urgently needed.

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“…Primary and secondary air pollutants like particulate matter (PM), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene (BTEX), formaldehyde, polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and inorganic pollutants (O 3, NOx, CO 2 , SO 2 ) remain present in ambient air in very high concentration specifically in lower and middle-income countries. There has been growing evidence that air pollutants are the root cause of the rise in the incidence of respiratory health issues in developing nations like China and India (Gulia et al, 2021;Zhang et al, 2022). These air pollutants could be present even at higher concentrations in indoor environments than outdoor ones (Myers and Maynard, 2005;Morawska et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phytoremediation potential of indoor plants in reducing air pollutants

Ravindra

Mor

2022

Front. Sustain. Cities

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Indoor air quality (IAQ), specifically after the COVID-19 pandemic, has become an international issue, as humans spend 80–90% of their time in indoor microenvironments. Poor IAQ has been related to the sick-building syndrome, nasal and ocular irritations, allergies, and respiratory dysfunction, including premature deaths. Phytoremediation is a novel strategy to absorb, adsorb, assimilate or transfer/reduce air pollutants and improve the IAQ using plants. Hence, the current review aims to explore indoor plants' role in improving indoor air quality, including their purification capabilities. There is increasing evidence that various plant species (e.g., Ficus benjamina, Chlorophytum comosum, Draceana) or their parts can reliably reduce the concentration of numerous air pollutants in the indoor microenvironment and promote human wellbeing. However, the indoor air pollutants removal efficiency depends on the species of plant, various plant characteristics such as leaf size, thickness, area, photosynthetic activity, light intensity and part of plant involved, i.e., roots, leaves, wax, cuticle and stomata. Using indoor plants is one of the most cost-effective and reliable methods of making a healthier indoor environment. Better public health can be maintained at a lower cost, with less strain on the health care system, if more emphasis is placed on creating a biophilic atmosphere and increasing the use of indoor plants. However, there are no established criteria for the best indoor plants and the impact of indoor plants on various factors such as interior ventilation, temperature, humidity, etc. Therefore, further experimental research is needed that simulates the interior environment to monitor the impacts of indoor plants on factors such as humidity, temperature, ventilation, etc., in improving the microenvironment of a closed space/room.

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Overview of particulate air pollution and human health in China: Evidence, challenges, and opportunities

Cited by 42 publications

References 161 publications

Emergency Department Visits in Children Associated with Exposure to Ambient PM1 within Several Hours

Emergency Department Visits in Children Associated with Exposure to Ambient PM1 within Several Hours

Influenza incidence and air pollution: Findings from a four-year surveillance study of prefecture-level cities in China

Phytoremediation potential of indoor plants in reducing air pollutants

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