Grantee Research Project Results
2000 Progress Report: Long-Term Morbidity and Mortality Related to Exposures to Particulate Matter and Associated Air Pollutants
EPA Grant Number: R826777Title: Long-Term Morbidity and Mortality Related to Exposures to Particulate Matter and Associated Air Pollutants
Investigators: Lebowitz, Michael
Current Investigators: Lebowitz, Michael , O'Rourke, Mary Kay , Hill, A. , Pettygrove, S.
Institution: University of Arizona
EPA Project Officer: Chung, Serena
Project Period: October 1, 1998 through September 30, 2001 (Extended to September 30, 2002)
Project Period Covered by this Report: October 1, 1999 through September 30, 2000
Project Amount: $363,426
RFA: Health Effects of Particulate Matter and Associated Air Pollutants (1998) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Air , Human Health , Particulate Matter
Objective:
The primary objective of this project is to determine the chronic cardio-pulmonary morbidity and mortality in normal and susceptible individuals associated with indoor and ambient exposures to particulate matter (primarily PM10). Cardio-pulmonary responses to PM will be examined independently and in interactions with associated indoor and outdoor air pollutants (APs), and related environmental factors. Various host characteristics of potential susceptibility will be incorporated in the analyses.
The secondary objective is to determine if particle size and the trace (elemental) metal content (and possible source) of the PM influence the relationships between PM exposures and cardio-pulmonary responses. This project will examine the nature of the relationships utilizing unique longitudinal cardio-pulmonary and related host susceptibility data linked to unique exposure assessment data. Spatial-temporal sources of exposure variability as well as sources of errors will be examined and incorporated.
Progress Summary:
The second year of the grant has been focused primarily on the exposure model formation using the environmental and health files developed to use in the analyses, especially for the representative longitudinal population study database (H&E) in which are found the chronic morbidity and mortality data. Two secondary activities have each continued to consume a tremendous amount of time and effort. The first has been completion of the necessary exposure assessment models (for exposure and intake dose estimates) from the National Human Exposure Assessment Survey (NHEXAS), under separate Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) funding. The second was the completion of the linkage of the files from the two studies.
Initial results of modeling from NHEXAS to H&E have been completed for PM10. We are in the process of relating this modeled exposure in H&E to its longitudinal morbidity and mortality, having hired another faculty member to do so. We also are in the process of doing the exposure modeling from NHEXAS to H&E for metals, and have planned such modeling for the other pollutants. These will be completed by the end of the 30th month of this project.
Future Activities:
For the rest of this grant year and next grant year we will perform the analyses as described in the grant. Preliminary analyses linking and relating PM (including by size and metal content) from the two studies and to explanatory environmental variables (e.g., source usage, ventilation, outdoor levels) will be performed using statistical models. The characteristics of the environmental questionnaires will be evaluated as well. The exposure assessment models also will be completed. We hope to present all of these results at an annual meeting (ISEA) in October.
The exposure assessments will utilize prior indoor/outdoor monitoring and exposure assessment (EA) modeling, taking into account various other exposure factors. Historical (residential and occupational) data and environmental data collected in these cohort studies will provide the data for EA modeling in which a parallel EA survey (NHEXAS) also will be used to obtain the estimates of total air exposures to PM, metals, and other relevant air pollutants. Differential effects of the size and elemental composition of the PM exposures will be evaluated.
Analyses of the chronic health effects related to the exposures to PM and its components and to associated pollutants in the first cohort will begin in winter 2000.
Measures of cardio-pulmonary morbidity and mortality in longitudinal population cohorts of over 2000 subjects (followed for 11 years) will be related to their PM (and other AP) exposures. A number of available indicators of susceptibility measured in these subjects will be utilized to see if they help predict those having long-term effects from PM exposures. The PM and AP exposures have been more than sufficient to affect these populations acutely, and the measures of susceptibility were important in estimating the health responses. Spatial and temporal variability estimates, and estimates of EA errors, also will be evaluated in reg
Journal Articles:
No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 2 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
ambient air, ozone, indoor air, mobile sources, vulnerability, sensitive populations, population, age, sex, ethnic groups, cumulative effects, toxins, volatile organic compounds, VOCs, nitrogen oxides, decision making, socioeconomic, epidemiology, statistics, biology, medicine, physiology, immunology, monitoring, analytical, surveys, measurement methods, EPA Region 9, Arizona, AZ., RFA, Health, Scientific Discipline, Air, Geographic Area, particulate matter, Environmental Chemistry, Health Risk Assessment, Epidemiology, State, Risk Assessments, Susceptibility/Sensitive Population/Genetic Susceptibility, Biochemistry, Children's Health, genetic susceptability, indoor air, ambient air quality, particulates, PM10, sensitive populations, air toxics, cardiopulmonary responses, human health effects, morbidity, cardiovascular vulnerability, exposure, ozone, pulmonary disease, host susceptibility, air pollution, socioeconomics, Tucson, children, human exposure, cardiopulmonary mechanisms, chronic health effects, lung inflammation, mobile sources, Arizona (AZ), cardiopulmonary response, mortality studies, Acute health effects, elderly, indoor air quality, mortality, Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), metals, respiratory, environmental hazard exposuresProgress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe 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.