Grantee Research Project Results

2001 Progress Report: St. Louis Bus, Steubenville and Atlanta Studies

EPA Grant Number: R827353C003
Subproject: this is subproject number 003 , established and managed by the Center Director under grant R827353
(EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
Center: Health Effects Institute (2015 - 2020)
Center Director: Greenbaum, Daniel S.
Title: St. Louis Bus, Steubenville and Atlanta Studies
Investigators: Gold, Diane R. , Stone, Peter
Current Investigators: Gold, Diane R. , Suh, Helen H. , Dockery, Douglas W. , Wheeler, A. , Zanobetti, Antonella , Coull, Brent , Adamkiewicz, Gary , Luttmann-Gibson, Heike , Sarnat, Jeremy , Schwartz, Joel , Stone, Peter , Dubowsky, S.
Institution: Harvard University
EPA Project Officer: Chung, Serena
Project Period: June 1, 1999 through May 31, 2005 (Extended to May 31, 2006)
Project Period Covered by this Report: June 1, 2001 through May 31, 2002
Project Amount: Refer to main center abstract for funding details.
RFA: Airborne Particulate Matter (PM) Centers (1999) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Air Quality and Air Toxics , Particulate Matter , Air

Objective:

This project is one of three research studies proposed under Theme I: Assessing Particle Exposures for Health Effects Studies. The overall objective of Theme I is to improve our ability to characterize air pollutant exposures for health effects studies based on personal, indoor, and outdoor particulate and gas concentrations that were measured as part of our previous or current exposure studies. The main objective of this project is to investigate the joint and individual effects of outdoor and indoor particles on heart rate and heart rate variability in elderly individuals and those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and recent myocardial infarctions (MIs). It addresses priority PM Research Topic 2 (Exposures of susceptible subpopulations to toxic PM components) and Topic 8 (Susceptible subpopulations) identified by the National Research Council.

Progress Summary:

We have completed data collection for the two field studies conducted in Atlanta and Steubenville, both of which have been co-sponsored by the Center. For the Atlanta study, multi-pollutant exposures and cardiovascular health status were measured repeatedly for two cohorts: individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and recent MIs. For the Stuebenville study, multi-pollutant exposures and cardiovascular health status were measured for elderly individuals living in government-subsidized housing complexes. The same health protocol was used for each of these studies, with data collected on heart rate, heart rate variability, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, and daily symptoms obtained for each participant on at least 7 days. Twenty four-hour indoor, outdoor, and personal measurements of particles, ozone, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen dioxide also were made on each of the monitoring days. Data analysis from the Atlanta study is nearly complete.

Our analysis of the toxic effects of indoor and outdoor particles using in vitro bioassays was recently published in Environmental Health Perspectives (Long, Suh, et al., 2001). In this paper, bioassays were performed using rat alveolar macrophages for 14 paired indoor and outdoor PM2.5 samples collected from nine Boston-area homes. Particle induced pro-inflammatory responses were assessed using tumor necrosis factor (TNF) production in the macrophages. Results from this study indicated that TNF production was significantly higher for indoor as compared to outdoor particles, both before and after normalization for endotoxin concentrations.

Future Activities:

In the coming year, we will complete laboratory analysis of the electrocardiogram data from Steubenville. After the electrocardiogram data analysis is complete for both cities, we will start the next stage of data analysis.

Journal Articles:

No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 8 publications for this subproject

Supplemental Keywords:

chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD, myocardial infarctions, MIs, elderly, government-subsidized housing, electrocardiogram, indoor, outdoor, particle, ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide., RFA, Health, Scientific Discipline, Air, particulate matter, Toxicology, air toxics, Environmental Chemistry, Epidemiology, Risk Assessments, Susceptibility/Sensitive Population/Genetic Susceptibility, indoor air, genetic susceptability, tropospheric ozone, Biology, ambient air quality, health effects, monitoring, risk assessment, sensitive populations, particulates, chemical exposure, interindividual variability, molecular epidemiology, air pollutants, exposure and effects, stratospheric ozone, ambient air monitoring, health risks, cardiopulmonary responses, indoor exposure, human health effects, ambient air, developmental effects, epidemelogy, respiratory disease, exposure, pulmonary disease, ambient measurement methods, ambient monitoring, air pollution, particle exposure, biological mechanism , Human Health Risk Assessment, human exposure, inhalation, pulmonary, ambient particle health effects, cardiopulmonary response, particulate exposure, inhaled, inhalation toxicology, human susceptibility, differentiating outdoor and indoor sources, atmospheric monitoring, cardiopulmonary, human health, indoor air quality, inhaled particles, measurement methods , metals, respiratory, genetic susceptibility, air quality, dosimetry, cardiovascular disease, human health risk

Relevant Websites:

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/epacenter Exit

Progress and Final Reports:

Original Abstract

Main Center Abstract and Reports:

R827353 Health Effects Institute (2015 - 2020)

Subprojects under this Center: (EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
R827353C001 Assessing Human Exposures to Particulate and Gaseous Air Pollutants
R827353C002 Quantifying Exposure Error and its Effect on Epidemiological Studies
R827353C003 St. Louis Bus, Steubenville and Atlanta Studies
R827353C004 Examining Conditions That Predispose Towards Acute Adverse Effects of Particulate Exposures
R827353C005 Assessing Life-Shortening Associated with Exposure to Particulate Matter
R827353C006 Investigating Chronic Effects of Exposure to Particulate Matter
R827353C007 Determining the Effects of Particle Characteristics on Respiratory Health of Children
R827353C008 Differentiating the Roles of Particle Size, Particle Composition, and Gaseous Co-Pollutants on Cardiac Ischemia
R827353C009 Assessing Deposition of Ambient Particles in the Lung
R827353C010 Relating Changes in Blood Viscosity, Other Clotting Parameters, Heart Rate, and Heart Rate Variability to Particulate and Criteria Gas Exposures
R827353C011 Studies of Oxidant Mechanisms
R827353C012 Modeling Relationships Between Mobile Source Particle Emissions and Population Exposures
R827353C013 Toxicological Evaluation of Realistic Emissions of Source Aerosols (TERESA) Study
R827353C014 Identifying the Physical and Chemical Properties of Particulate Matter Responsible for the Observed Adverse Health Effects
R827353C015 Research Coordination Core
R827353C016 Analytical and Facilities Core
R827353C017 Technology Development and Transfer Core

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The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.