Journal Article Review Epublish 1 citation
PubMed: 39543692 DOI: 10.1186/s12940-024-01136-5
The last decade of air pollution epidemiology and the challenges of quantitative risk assessment.
Environ Health 23(1):98
Authors: Francesco Forastiere, Hans Orru, Michal Krzyzanowski, Joseph V Spadaro
Affiliations
- National Research Council, IFT, Palermo, Italy.
- Environmental Research Group, Imperial College, London, UK.
- Unit of Sustainable Health, Umea University, Umea, Sweden.
- Institute of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.
- Environmental Research Group, Imperial College, London, UK.
- Spadaro Environmental Research Consultants (SERC), Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Abstract
Epidemiologic research and quantitative risk assessment play a crucial role in transferring fundamental scientific knowledge to policymakers so they can take action to reduce the burden of ambient air pollution. This commentary addresses several challenges in quantitative risk assessment of air pollution that require close attention. The background to this discussion provides a summary of and conclusions from the epidemiological evidence on ambient air pollution and health outcomes accumulated since the 1990s. We focus on identifying relevant exposure-health outcome pairs, the associated concentration-response functions to be applied in a risk assessment, and several caveats in their application. We propose a structured and comprehensive framework for assessing the evidence levels associated with each exposure-health outcome pair within a health impact assessment context. Specific issues regarding the use of global or regional concentration-response functions, their shape, and the range of applicability are discussed.
MeSH
Epidemiology, Air Pollution, Risk Assessment, Environmental Illness, Air, Environmental Pollution