December 16 | 2019

/in /by

Early Life Exposure to Air Pollution and Incidence of Childhood Asthma, Allergic Rhinitis and Eczema.

To T, Zhu J, Stieb D, Gray N, Fong I, Pinault L, Jerrett M, Robichaud A, Ménard R, van Donkelaar A, Martin RV, Hystad P, Brook JR, Dell S.

Eur Respir J. 2019 Dec 5. pii: 1900913. DOI: 10.1183/13993003.00913-2019  [Epub ahead of print]

 

Abstract

RATIONALE:

There is growing evidence that air pollution may contribute to the development of childhood asthma and other allergic diseases. In this follow-up of the Toronto Child Health Evaluation Questionnaire (T-CHEQ) study, we examined associations between early life exposures to air pollution and incidence of asthma, allergic rhinitis and eczema from birth through adolescence.

METHODS:

1286 T-CHEQ participants were followed from birth until outcome, March 31, 2016, or loss-to-follow-up with a mean of 17 years of follow-up. Concentrations of NO2, O3 and PM2.5 from January 1, 1999, to December 31, 2012 were assigned to participants based on their postal codes at birth using ground observations, chemical/meteorological models, remote sensing and land use regression (LUR) models. Study outcomes included incidence of physician-diagnosed asthma, allergic rhinitis and eczema. Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) per interquartile range of exposures and outcomes, adjusting for potential confounders.

RESULTS:

HRs of 1.17 (95%CI: 1.05, 1.31) for asthma and 1.07 (95%CI: 0.99, 1.15) for eczema were observed for total oxidants (O3 and NO2) at birth. No significant increase in risk was found for PM2.5.

CONCLUSION:

Exposures to oxidant air pollutants (O3 and NO2), but not PM2.5 were associated with an increased risk of incident asthma and eczema in children. This suggests that improving air quality may contribute to the prevention of asthma and other allergic disease in childhood and adolescence.

Making the Most of Residential History | February 4th | 2020

/in , /by

 

It’s a fact – people move! Join our panel of experts to hear more about how this impacts environmental health research, and how you can take advantage of residential history data now in Canada’s major cohorts.

Why do we care about residential history?

  • Paul Villeneuve,  Professor in the School of Mathematics and Statistics, with appointments in the Department of Health Sciences and in the Departments of Health Sciences and Neurosciences at Carleton University
Statistics Canada residential history program. 
  • Michael Tjepkema, Principal Researcher, Statistics Canada, Division of Health Analysis
CANUE data and cohorts with residential history.
  • Dany Doiron, Research Associate, Respiratory Epidemiology and Clinical Research Unit, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC); CANUE data linkage expert.
Case Study – Examples from the Canadian Census Health and Environment Cohort.
  • Dan Crouse, Consulting Senior Scientist, Health Effects Institute, Boston, MA.
Case Study – Examples from the BC Generations CPTP cohort.
  • Trevor Dummer, Co-National Scientific Director of the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow Project (CPTP).

December 9 | 2019

/in /by

Effects of greenspace morphology on mortality at the neighbourhood level: a cross-sectional ecological study.

Huaqing Wang, MSc, Prof Louis G Tassinary, PhD

The Lancet Planetary Health  VOLUME 3, ISSUE 11, PE460-E468, NOVEMBER 01, 2019

November, 2019 DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(19)30217-7

 

Summary

Background

The association between urban greenspace and mortality risk is well known, but less is known about how the spatial arrangement of greenspace affects population health. We aimed to investigate the relation between urban greenspace distribution and mortality risk.

Methods

We did a cross-sectional study in Philadelphia, PA, USA, using high-resolution landcover data for 2008 from the Pennsylvania Spatial Data Access database. We calculated landscape metrics to measure the greenness, fragmentation, connectedness, aggregation, and shape of greenspace, including and omitting green areas 83·6 m2 or smaller, using Geographical Information System and spatial pattern analysis programs. We analysed all-cause and cause-specific mortality (related to heart disease, chronic lower respiratory diseases, and neoplasms) recorded in 2006 for 369 census tracts (small geographical areas with a population of 2500–8000 people). We did negative binomial regression and principal component analyses to assess associations between landscape spatial metrics and mortality, controlling for geographical, demographic, and socioeconomic factors.

Findings

A 1% increase in the percentage of greenspace was predicted to reduce all-cause mortality by 0·419% (95% CI 0·050–0·777), with no effect on cause-specific mortality. All-cause mortality was negatively associated with the area of greenspace. A 1 m2 increase in the mean area of greenspace led to a 0·011% (95% CI 0·004–0·018) fall in all-cause mortality and a 0·019% (0·007–0·032) decrease in cardiac mortality; considering only green areas larger than 83·6 m2 would contribute to a 0·002% (95% CI 0·001–0·003) decrease in all-cause mortality and a 0·003% (0·001–0·006) reduction in cardiac deaths. Census tracts with more connected, aggregated, coherent, and complex shape greenspaces had a lower risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality. The negative association between articulated landscape parcels and all-cause mortality varied with age and education, such that the relation was stronger for census tracts with a higher percentage of older and less well-educated adults.

Interpretation

A significant modest association exists between the spatial distribution of greenspace in cities and mortality risk. The overall amount of greenspace alone is probably failing to capture significant variance in local health outcomes and, thus, environment-based health planning should consider the shape, form, and function of greenspace.

December 4 | 2019

/in , /by

Examining the Shape of the Association between Low Levels of Fine Particulate Matter and Mortality across Three Cycles of the Canadian Census Health and Environment Cohort.

Pappin AJ, Christidis T, Pinault LL, Crouse DL, Brook JR, Erickson A, Hystad P, Li C, Martin RV, Meng J, Weichenthal S, van Donkelaar A, Tjepkema M, Brauer M, Burnett RT.

Environ Health Perspect. 2019 Oct;127(10):107008. doi: 10.1289/EHP5204 Epub 2019 Oct 22.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Ambient fine particulate air pollution with aerodynamic diameter ≤2.5 μm (PM2.5) is an important contributor to the global burden of disease. Information on the shape of the concentration-response relationship at low concentrations is critical for estimating this burden, setting air quality standards, and in benefits assessments.

OBJECTIVES:

We examined the concentration-response relationship between PM2.5 and nonaccidental mortality in three Canadian Census Health and Environment Cohorts (CanCHECs) based on the 1991, 1996, and 2001 census cycles linked to mobility and mortality data.

METHODS:

Census respondents were linked with death records through 2016, resulting in 8.5 million adults, 150 million years of follow-up, and 1.5 million deaths. Using annual mailing address, we assigned time-varying contextual variables and 3-y moving-average ambient PM2.5 at a 1×1 km spatial resolution from 1988 to 2015. We ran Cox proportional hazards models for PM2.5 adjusted for eight subject-level indicators of socioeconomic status, seven contextual covariates, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and combined oxidative potential. We used three statistical methods to examine the shape of the concentration-response relationship between PM2.5 and nonaccidental mortality.

RESULTS:

The mean 3-y annual average estimate of PM2.5 exposure ranged from 6.7 to 8.0 μg/m3 over the three cohorts. We estimated a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.053 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.041, 1.065] per 10-μg/m3 change in PM2.5 after pooling the three cohort-specific hazard ratios, with some variation between cohorts (1.041 for the 1991 and 1996 cohorts and 1.084 for the 2001 cohort). We observed a supralinear association in all three cohorts. The lower bound of the 95% CIs exceeded unity for all concentrations in the 1991 cohort, for concentrations above 2 μg/m3 in the 1996 cohort, and above 5 μg/m3 in the 2001 cohort.

DISCUSSION:

In a very large population-based cohort with up to 25 y of follow-up, PM2.5 was associated with nonaccidental mortality at concentrations as low as 5 μg/m3.

November 25 | 2019

/in /by

Green spaces and mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies.

David Rojas-Rueda, PhD, Prof Mark J Nieuwenhuijsen, PhD, Mireia Gascon, PhD, Daniela Perez-Leon, MD, Pierpaolo Mudu, PhD

The Lancet Planetary Health  VOLUME 3, ISSUE 11, PE469-E477, NOVEMBER 01, 2019  DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(19)30215-3

 

Summary

Background

Green spaces have been proposed to be a health determinant, improving health and wellbeing through different mechanisms. We aimed to systematically review the epidemiological evidence from longitudinal studies that have investigated green spaces and their association with all-cause mortality. We aimed to evaluate this evidence with a meta-analysis, to determine exposure-response functions for future quantitative health impact assessments.

Methods

We did a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies on green spaces and all-cause mortality. We searched for studies published and indexed in MEDLINE before Aug 20, 2019, which we complemented with an additional search of cited literature. We included studies if their design was longitudinal; the exposure of interest was measured green space; the endpoint of interest was all-cause mortality; they provided a risk estimate (ie, a hazard ratio [HR]) and the corresponding 95% CI for the association between green space exposure and all-cause mortality; and they used normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) as their green space exposure definition. Two investigators (DR-R and DP-L) independently screened the full-text articles for inclusion. We used a random-effects model to obtain pooled HRs. This study is registered with PROSPERO, CRD42018090315.

Findings

We identified 9298 studies in MEDLINE and 13 studies that were reported in the literature but not indexed in MEDLINE, of which 9234 (99%) studies were excluded after screening the titles and abstracts and 68 (88%) of 77 remaining studies were excluded after assessment of the full texts. We included nine (12%) studies in our quantitative evaluation, which comprised 8 324 652 individuals from seven countries. Seven (78%) of the nine studies found a significant inverse relationship between an increase in surrounding greenness per 0·1 NDVI in a buffer zone of 500 m or less and the risk of all-cause mortality, but two studies found no association. The pooled HR for all-cause mortality per increment of 0·1 NDVI within a buffer of 500 m or less of a participant’s residence was 0·96 (95% CI 0·94–0·97; I2, 95%).

Interpretation

We found evidence of an inverse association between surrounding greenness and all-cause mortality. Interventions to increase and manage green spaces should therefore be considered as a strategic public health intervention.

November 22 | 2019

/in /by

Evaluating the Sensitivity of PM2.5-Mortality Associations to the Spatial and Temporal Scale of Exposure Assessment.

Crouse DL, Erickson AC, Christidis T, Pinault L, van Donkelaar A, Li C, Meng J, Martin RV, Tjepkema M, Hystad P, Burnett R, Pappin A, Brauer M, Weichenthal S.

Epidemiology. 2019 Nov 4. doi: 10.1097/EDE.0000000000001136 [Epub ahead of print]

 

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

The temporal and spatial scales of exposure assessment may influence observed associations between fine particulate air pollution (PM2.5) and mortality but few studies have systematically examined this question.

METHODS:

We followed 2.4 million adults in the 2001 Canadian Census Health and Environment Cohort for nonaccidental and cause-specific mortality between 2001-2011. We assigned PM2.5 exposures to residential locations using satellite-based estimates and compared three different temporal moving averages (1-year, 3-year, and 8-year) and three spatial scales (1-km, 5-km, and 10-km) of exposure assignment. In addition, we examined different spatial scales based on age, employment status, and urban/rural location, as well as adjustment for O3, NO2, or their combined oxidant capacity (Ox).

RESULTS:

In general, longer moving averages resulted in stronger associations between PM2.5 and mortality. For nonaccidental mortality, we observed a hazard ratio of 1.11 (95% CI: 1.08, 1.13) for the 1-year moving average compared to 1.23 (95% CI: 1.20, 1.27) for the 8-year moving average. Respiratory and lung cancer mortality were most sensitive to the spatial scale of exposure assessment with stronger associations observed at smaller spatial scales. Adjustment for oxidant gases attenuated associations between PM2.5 and cardiovascular mortality and strengthened associations with lung cancer. Despite these variations, PM2.5 was associated with increased mortality in nearly all of the models examined.

CONCLUSIONS:

These findings support a relationship between outdoor PM2.5 and mortality at low concentrations and highlight the importance of longer exposure windows, more spatially resolved exposure metrics, and adjustment for oxidant gases in characterizing this relationship.

November 11 | 2019

/in /by

Association Between Neighborhood Walkability and Predicted 10-Year Cardiovascular Disease Risk: The CANHEART (Cardiovascular Health in Ambulatory Care Research Team) Cohort.

Howell NA, Tu JV, Moineddin R, Chu A, Booth GL. 

J Am Heart Assoc. 2019 Nov 5;8(21):e013146. Epub 2019 Oct 31. DOI:10.1161/JAHA.119.013146

Abstract

Background Individuals living in unwalkable neighborhoods appear to be less physically active and more likely to develop obesity, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension. It is unclear whether neighborhood walkability is a risk factor for future cardiovascular disease. Methods and Results We studied residents living in major urban centers in Ontario, Canada on January 1, 2008, using linked electronic medical record and administrative health data from the CANHEART (Cardiovascular Health in Ambulatory Care Research Team) cohort. Walkability was assessed using a validated index based on population and residential density, street connectivity, and the number of walkable destinations in each neighborhood, divided into quintiles (Q). The primary outcome was a predicted 10-year cardiovascular disease risk of ≥7.5% (recommended threshold for statin use) assessed by the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Pooled Cohort Equation. Adjusted associations were estimated using logistic regression models. Secondary outcomes included measured systolic blood pressure, total and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, prior diabetes mellitus diagnosis, and current smoking status. In total, 44 448 individuals were included in our analyses. Fully adjusted analyses found a nonlinear relationship between walkability and predicted 10-year cardiovascular disease risk (least [Q1] versus most [Q5] walkable neighborhood: odds ratio =1.09, 95% CI: 0.98, 1.22), with the greatest difference between Q3 and Q5 (odds ratio=1.33, 95% CI: 1.23, 1.45). Dose-response associations were observed for systolic blood pressure, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and diabetes mellitus risk, while an inverse association was observed with smoking status. Conclusions In our setting, adults living in less walkable neighborhoods had a higher predicted 10-year cardiovascular disease risk than those living in highly walkable areas.

November 4 | 2019

/in /by

Comparison of land use regression and random forests models on estimating noise levels in five Canadian cities.

Liu Y, Goudreau S, Oiamo T, Rainham D, Hatzopoulou M, Chen H, Davies H, Tremblay M, Johnson J, Bockstael A, Leroux T, Smargiassi A.

Environ Pollut. 2019 Oct 10:113367. DOI:10.1016/j.envpol.2019.113367 [Epub ahead of print]

Abstract

Chronic exposure to environment noise is associated with sleep disturbance and cardiovascular diseases. Assessment of population exposed to environmental noise is limited by a lack of routine noise sampling and is critical for controlling exposure and mitigating adverse health effects. Land use regression (LUR) model is newly applied in estimating environmental exposures to noise. Machine-learning approaches offer opportunities to improve the noise estimations from LUR model. In this study, we employed random forests (RF) model to estimate environmental noise levels in five Canadian cities and compared noise estimations between RF and LUR models. A total of 729 measurements and 33 built environment-related variables were used to estimate spatial variation in environmental noise at the global (multi-city) and local (individual city) scales. Leave one out cross-validation suggested that noise estimates derived from the RF global model explained a greater proportion of variation (R2: RF = 0.58, LUR = 0.47) with lower root mean squared errors (RF = 4.44 dB(A), LUR = 4.99 dB(A)). The cross-validation also indicated the RF models had better general performance than the LUR models at the city scale. By applying the global models to estimate noise levels at the postal code level, we found noise levels were higher in Montreal and Longueuil than in other major Canadian cities.

October 28 | 2019

/in /by

The association between walkable neighbourhoods and physical activity across the lifespan. 

Colley RC, Christidis T, Michaud I, Tjepkema M, Ross NA. 

Health Rep. 2019 Sep 18;30(9):3-13. doi: 10.25318/82-003-x201900900001-eng

 

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Walkability is positively associated with physical activity in adults. Walkability is more consistently associated with walking for transportation than recreational walking. The purpose of this study is to examine how the association between walkable neighbourhoods and physical activity varies by age and type of physical activity using a new Canadian walkability database.

DATA AND METHODS:

The 2016 Canadian Active Living Environments (Can-ALE) database was attached to two cross-sectional health surveys: the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS; 2009 to 2015) and the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS; 2015 to 2016). Physical activity was measured in the CHMS using the Actical accelerometer (n = 10,987; ages 3 to 79). Unorganized physical activity outside of school among children aged 3 to 11 was reported by parents in the CHMS (n = 4,030), and physical activity data by type (recreational, transportation-based, school-based, and household and occupational) was self-reported by respondents in the CCHS (n = 105,876; ages 12 and older).

RESULTS:

Walkability was positively associated with accelerometer-measured moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in youth (p ⟨ 0.05), younger adults (p ⟨ 0.0001) and older adults (p ⟨ 0.05), while walkability was negatively associated with light physical activity in youth (ages 12 to 17) and older adults (ages 60 to 79) (p ⟨ 0.05). Walkability was positively associated with self-reported transportation-based physical activity in youth (p ⟨ 0.001) and adults of all ages (p ⟨ 0.0001). Walkability was negatively associated with parent-reported unorganized physical activity of children aged 5 to 11, and children living in the most walkable neighbourhoods accumulated 10 minutes of physical activity less-on average-than those living in the least walkable neighbourhoods.

DISCUSSION:

The results of this study are consistent with previous studies indicating that walkability is more strongly associated with physical activity in adults than in children and that walkability is associated with transportation-based physical activity. Walkability is one of many built environment factors that may influence physical activity. More research is needed to identify and understand the built environment factors associated with physical activity in children and with recreational or leisure-time physical activity.

October 21 | 2019

/in /by

Low concentrations of fine particle air pollution and mortality in the Canadian Community Health Survey cohort.

Christidis T, Erickson AC, Pappin AJ, Crouse DL, Pinault LL, Weichenthal SA, Brook JR, van Donkelaar A, Hystad P, Martin RV, Tjepkema M, Burnett RT, Brauer M.

Environ Health. 2019 Oct 10;18(1):84. doi: 10.1186/s12940-019-0518-y

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Approximately 2.9 million deaths are attributed to ambient fine particle air pollution around the world each year (PM2.5). In general, cohort studies of mortality and outdoor PM2.5 concentrations have limited information on individuals exposed to low levels of PM2.5 as well as covariates such as smoking behaviours, alcohol consumption, and diet which may confound relationships with mortality. This study provides an updated and extended analysis of the Canadian Community Health Survey-Mortality cohort: a population-based cohort with detailed PM2.5 exposure data and information on a number of important individual-level behavioural risk factors. We also used this rich dataset to provide insight into the shape of the concentration-response curve for mortality at low levels of PM2.5.

METHODS:

Respondents to the Canadian Community Health Survey from 2000 to 2012 were linked by postal code history from 1981 to 2016 to high resolution PM2.5 exposure estimates, and mortality incidence to 2016. Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate the relationship between non-accidental mortality and ambient PM2.5 concentrations (measured as a three-year average with a one-year lag) adjusted for socio-economic, behavioural, and time-varying contextual covariates.

RESULTS:

In total, 50,700 deaths from non-accidental causes occurred in the cohort over the follow-up period. Annual average ambient PM2.5 concentrations were low (i.e. 5.9 μg/m3, s.d. 2.0) and each 10 μg/m3 increase in exposure was associated with an increase in non-accidental mortality (HR = 1.11; 95% CI 1.04-1.18). Adjustment for behavioural covariates did not materially change this relationship. We estimated a supra-linear concentration-response curve extending to concentrations below 2 μg/m3 using a shape constrained health impact function. Mortality risks associated with exposure to PM2.5 were increased for males, those under age 65, and non-immigrants. Hazard ratios for PM2.5 and mortality were attenuated when gaseous pollutants were included in models.

CONCLUSIONS:

Outdoor PM2.5 concentrations were associated with non-accidental mortality and adjusting for individual-level behavioural covariates did not materially change this relationship. The concentration-response curve was supra-linear with increased mortality risks extending to low outdoor PM2.5 concentrations.