Grantee Research Project Results
2009 Progress Report: Measuring the Impact of Particulate Matter Reductions by Environmental Health Outcome Indicators
EPA Grant Number: R833627Title: Measuring the Impact of Particulate Matter Reductions by Environmental Health Outcome Indicators
Investigators: Johnson, Jean , Yawn, Barbara , Pratt, Greg
Institution: Minnesota Department of Health , Olmsted Medical Center , Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
Current Institution: Minnesota Department of Health , Minnesota Pollution Control Agency , Olmsted Medical Center
EPA Project Officer: Hahn, Intaek
Project Period: January 1, 2007 through December 1, 2011 (Extended to May 31, 2012)
Project Period Covered by this Report: January 1, 2009 through December 31,2009
Project Amount: $488,650
RFA: Development of Environmental Health Outcome Indicators (2006) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Air Quality and Air Toxics , Airborne Particulate Matter Health Effects , Air Toxics , Particulate Matter
Objective:
This report summarizes progress made in project year 2 (2009) on a collaborative research project to develop and evaluate a set of environmental health outcome indicators that can be used to measure and track the public health impacts of particulate matter (PM) reduction policies. Collaborators include the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), and the Olmsted Medical Center, Rochester Epidemiology Project (REP). The objectives of the research as originally proposed have not changed.
Progress Summary:
Significant progress had been made with the collection and evaluation of available environmental and health outcome data and with developing the analytical methods. Project investigators have collected the available PM2.5 data for study years 2000-2008 and identified the strengths and limitations with each data set for development of indicator measures. A close comparison of three data sources, all of which provide a daily population exposure estimate (PM2.5 continuous monitor, CAMx emissions model, and HB model data) in a time series display for 2005 revealed that on average the three data sources track well together, and identify similar daily peak exposures. The HB modeled data and the CAMx modeled data both tended to underestimate the daily peak concentrations, thus reducing daily variability, while the PM2.5 continuous monitor data provided the greatest daily variability.
Project investigators conducted an evaluation comparing the three PM2.5 data sets available for the year 2005 in the Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) metro study area in a case-crossover analysis with 2005 asthma hospitalizations to examine differences in the strength and precision of effect estimates. PM2.5 concentrations in the metro area counties show a homogeneous local distribution, thus the use of one daily PM2.5 concentration averaged over the metro area from all monitors was the preferred approach. To examine within-city spatial resolution of PM2.5 exposure from major roadways, we began testing several metrics for traffic exposure in Olmsted County.
In 2009, we added available 2007-2008 health outcome data to the 2000-2006 data previously collected, including: asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), chronic lower respiratory disease (CLRD), total respiratory disease, and acute myocardial infarctions hospitalizations data. We conducted descriptive analysis of data received from the Rochester Epidemiology Project for Olmsted County including: asthma, COPD and acute myocardial infarctions hospitalizations, as well as asthma exacerbations (measured as clusters of three asthma clinic visits in single patient over a 2-week time period) for years 2000-2007.
Significant progress was made on the refinement of the case-crossover analysis using the C-CAT software. Because the health effects of PM exposure on a given day are spread out over several subsequent days, a time-stratified referent selection approach was used to assess the associations between various exposure lags (0-1, 0-2, 0-4 days) of daily 24-hour continuous PM2.5 monitoring data and total respiratory, asthma, and CLRD hospitalizations over a 6-year period, 2002-2007. Conditional logistic regression models that adjust for temperature, relative humidity, influenza epidemics, and national holidays were tested to compare effect estimates. Overall, significant effects were observed at lag averages (0-2) for CLRD hospitalizations, asthma hospitalizations, and total respiratory hospitalizations. We observed that odds ratios have decreased during the early years of reduction strategies implementation compared with a baseline period.
Future Activities:
Collect additional years of available data through the end of the study period (2009) to include 2008-2009 PM2.5 monitoring data, HB modeling data, respiratory disease and myocardial infarction health outcomes, PM speciation data and co-pollutants.
Collect and test in C-CAT models added health outcome data sets to include: state ambulance report data for respiratory and myocardial infarction outcomes, available through 2009, and COPD exacerbations (clinic visit clusters) data from the REP.
Continue to refine C-CAT models, using continuous monitoring, HB data and covariate to include the addition of speciated PM components, refined covariates for influenza, seasonal data for ozone, and spatially assigned traffic exposure data.
Conduct a spatially refined analysis in Olmsted County using available geocoded (zip+4) health outcomes and incorporating traffic exposure metrics.
Journal Articles:
No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 7 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
air quality index, Bayesian, decision-making, elderly, susceptible populations, respiratory effects, EPA Region 5, epidemiology, health effects, hospital admissions, Midwest, Minnesota, particulates, PM, trafficRelevant Websites:
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/hpcd/cdee/index.html Exit
http://www.pca.state.mn.us/ Exit
http://www.olmmed.org/locations/research.html Exit
Progress 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.
Project Research Results
- Final Report
- 2011 Progress Report
- 2010 Progress Report
- 2008 Progress Report
- 2007 Progress Report
- Original Abstract
2 journal articles for this project