September 18 | 2017

Estimated Changes in Life Expectancy and Adult Mortality Resulting from Declining PM2.5 Exposures in the Contiguous United States: 1980–2010

Neal Fann, Sun-Young Kim, Casey Olives, and Lianne Sheppard.

https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/ehp507/

Environ Health Perspect. 2017; Vol 125, Issue 9.  https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP507

ABSTRACT

Background: PM2.5 precursor emissions have declined over the course of several decades, following the implementation of local, state, and federal air quality policies. Estimating the corresponding change in population exposure and PM2.5-attributable risk of death prior to the year 2000 is made difficult by the lack of PM2.5 monitoring data.

Objectives: We used a new technique to estimate historical PM2.5 concentrations, and estimated the effects of changes in PM2.5 population exposures on mortality in adults (age ≥30 y), and on life expectancy at birth, in the contiguous United States during 1980–2010.

Methods: We estimated annual mean county-level PM2.5 concentrations in 1980, 1990, 2000, and 2010 using universal kriging incorporating geographic variables. County-level death rates and national life tables for each year were obtained from the U.S. Census and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We used log-linear and nonlinear concentration–response coefficients from previous studies to estimate changes in the numbers of deaths and in life years and life expectancy at birth, attributable to changes in PM2.5.

Results: Between 1980 and 2010, population-weighted PM2.5 exposures fell by about half, and the estimated number of excess deaths declined by about a third. The States of California, Virginia, New Jersey, and Georgia had some of the largest estimated reductions in PM2.5-attributable deaths. Relative to a counterfactual population with exposures held constant at 1980 levels, we estimated that people born in 2050 would experience an ∼1-y increase in life expectancy at birth, and that there would be a cumulative gain of 4.4 million life years among adults ≥30 y of age.

Conclusions: Our estimates suggest that declines in PM2.5 exposures between 1980 and 2010 have benefitted public health.

September 11 | 2017

Beyond the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI): Developing a Natural Space Index for population-level health research.

Rugel EJ, Henderson SB, Carpiano RM, Brauer M.

Environ Res. 2017 Aug 29; 159:474-483. doi:  10.1016/j.envres.2017.08.033

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Natural spaces can provide psychological benefits to individuals, but population-level epidemiologic studies have produced conflicting results. Refining current exposure-assessment methods is necessary to advance our understanding of population health and to guide the design of health-promoting urban forms.

OBJECTIVES:

The aim of this study was to develop a comprehensive Natural Space Index that robustly models potential exposure based on the presence, form, accessibility, and quality of multiple forms of greenspace (e.g., parks and street trees) and bluespace (e.g., oceans and lakes).

MATERIAL AND METHODS:

The index was developed for greater Vancouver, Canada. Greenness presence was derived from remote sensing (NDVI/EVI); forms were extracted from municipal and private databases; and accessibility was based on restrictions such as private ownership. Quality appraisals were conducted for 200 randomly sampled parks using the Public Open Space Desktop Appraisal Tool (POSDAT). Integrating these measures in GIS, exposure was assessed for 60,242 postal codes using 100- to 1,600-m buffers based on hypothesized pathways to mental health. A single index was then derived using principal component analysis (PCA).

RESULTS:

Comparing NDVI with alternate approaches for assessing natural space resulted in widely divergent results, with quintile rankings shifting for 22-88% of postal codes, depending on the measure. Overall park quality was fairly low (mean of 15 on a scale of 0-45), with no significant difference seen by neighborhood-level household income. The final PCA identified three main sets of variables, with the first two components explaining 68% of the total variance. The first component was dominated by the percentages of public and private greenspace and bluespace and public greenspace within 250m, while the second component was driven by lack of access to bluespace within 1 km.

CONCLUSIONS:

Many current approaches to modeling natural space may misclassify exposures and have limited specificity. The Natural Space Index represents a novel approach at a regional scale with application to urban planning and policy-making.

September 5 | 2017

Associations of Pregnancy Outcomes and PM2.5 in a National Canadian Study

Stieb DM, Chen L, Beckerman BS, Jerrett M, Crouse DL, Omariba DW, Peters PA, van Donkelaar A, Martin RV, Burnett RT, Gilbert NL, Tjepkema M, Liu S, Dugandzic  RM.

Environ Health Perspect. 2016 Feb;124(2):243-9. doi:  10.1289/ehp.1408995

ABSTRACT

Background

Numerous studies have examined associations between air pollution and pregnancy outcomes, but most have been restricted to urban populations living near monitors.

Objectives

We examined the association between pregnancy outcomes and fine particulate matter in a large national study including urban and rural areas.

Methods

Analyses were based on approximately 3 million singleton live births in Canada between 1999 and 2008. Exposures to PM2.5(particles of median aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 μm) were assigned by mapping the mother’s postal code to a monthly surface based on a national land use regression model that incorporated observations from fixed-site monitoring stations and satellite-derived estimates of PM2.5. Generalized estimating equations were used to examine the association between PM2.5 and preterm birth (gestational age < 37 weeks), term low birth weight (< 2,500 g), small for gestational age (SGA; < 10th percentile of birth weight for gestational age), and term birth weight, adjusting for individual covariates and neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES).

Results

In fully adjusted models, a 10-μg/m3 increase in PM2.5 over the entire pregnancy was associated with SGA (odds ratio = 1.04; 95% CI 1.01, 1.07) and reduced term birth weight (–20.5 g; 95% CI –24.7, –16.4). Associations varied across subgroups based on maternal place of birth and period (1999–2003 vs. 2004–2008).

Conclusions

This study, based on approximately 3 million births across Canada and employing PM2.5 estimates from a national spatiotemporal model, provides further evidence linking PM2.5 and pregnancy outcomes.

August 28 | 2017

Outdoor Light at Night and Breast Cancer Incidence in the Nurses’ Health Study II

Peter James, Kimberly A. Bertrand,  Jaime E. Hart, Eva S. Schernhammer, Rulla M. Tamimi, and Francine Laden

Environmental Health Perspectives, August 2017, Volume 125 Issue 8, https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP935

BACKGROUND:

Animal and epidemiologic studies suggest that exposure to light at night (LAN) may disrupt circadian patterns and decrease nocturnal secretion of melatonin, which may disturb estrogen regulation, leading to increased breast cancer risk.

OBJECTIVES:

We examined the association between residential outdoor LAN and breast cancer incidence using data from the nationwide U.S.-based Nurses’ Health Study II cohort.

METHODS:

We followed 109,672 women from 1989 through 2013. Cumulative LAN exposure was estimated using time-varying satellite data for a composite of persistent nighttime illumination at ∼1 km2 scale for each residence during follow-up. Incident invasive breast cancer cases were confirmed by medical record review. We used Cox proportional hazard models to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), adjusting for anthropometric, reproductive, lifestyle, and socioeconomic risk factors.

RESULTS:

Over 2,187,425 person-years, we identified 3,549 incident breast cancer cases. Based on a fully adjusted model, the estimated HR for incident breast cancer with an interquartile range (IQR) (31.6 nW/cm2/sr) increase in cumulative average outdoor LAN was 1.05 (95% CI: 1.00, 1.11). An association between LAN and breast cancer appeared to be limited to women who were premenopausal at the time of a case [HR=1.07 (95% CI: 1.01, 1.14) based on 1,973 cases vs. HR=1.00 (95% CI: 0.91, 1.09) based on 1,172 cases in postmenopausal women; p-interaction=0.08]. The LAN–breast cancer association was observed only in past and current smokers at the end of follow-up [HR=1.00 (95% CI: 0.94, 1.07) based on 2,215 cases in never smokers; HR=1.10 (95% CI: 1.01, 1.19) based on 1,034 cases in past smokers vs. HR=1.21 (95% CI: 1.07, 1.37) for 300 cases in current smokers; p-interaction=0.08].

CONCLUSIONS:

Although further work is required to confirm our results and to clarify potential mechanisms, our findings suggest that exposure to residential outdoor light at night may contribute to invasive breast cancer risk.

 

August 21 | 2017

Residential greenness and birth outcomes: evaluating the influence of spatially correlated built-environment factors.

Hystad P1, Davies HW, Frank L, Van Loon J, Gehring U, Tamburic L, Brauer M. 

Environ Health Perspect. 2014 Oct;122(10):1095-102.

doi: 10.1289/ehp.1308049   Epub 2014 Jul 11.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Half the world’s population lives in urban areas. It is therefore important to identify characteristics of the built environment that are beneficial to human health. Urban greenness has been associated with improvements in a diverse range of health conditions, including birth outcomes; however, few studies have attempted to distinguish potential effects of greenness from those of other spatially correlated exposures related to the built environment.

OBJECTIVES:

We aimed to investigate associations between residential greenness and birth outcomes and evaluate the influence of spatially correlated built environment factors on these associations.

METHODS:

We examined associations between residential greenness [measured using satellite-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) within 100 m of study participants’ homes] and birth outcomes in a cohort of 64,705 singleton births (from 1999-2002) in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. We also evaluated associations after adjusting for spatially correlated built environmental factors that may influence birth outcomes, including exposure to air pollution and noise, neighborhood walkability, and distance to the nearest park.

RESULTS:

An interquartile increase in greenness (0.1 in residential NDVI) was associated with higher term birth weight (20.6 g; 95% CI: 16.5, 24.7) and decreases in the likelihood of small for gestational age, very preterm (< 30 weeks), and moderately preterm (30-36 weeks) birth. Associations were robust to adjustment for air pollution and noise exposures, neighborhood walkability, and park proximity.

CONCLUSIONS:

Increased residential greenness was associated with beneficial birth outcomes in this population-based cohort. These associations did not change after adjusting for other spatially correlated built environment factors, suggesting that alternative pathways (e.g., psychosocial and psychological mechanisms) may underlie associations between residential greenness and birth outcomes.

 

August 14 | 2017

Within- and between-city contrasts in nitrogen dioxide and mortality in 10 Canadian cities; a subset of the Canadian Census Health and Environment Cohort (CanCHEC).

Crouse DL1, Peters PA2, Villeneuve PJ3, Proux MO4, Shin HH1, Goldberg MS5, Johnson M6, Wheeler AJ6, Allen RW7, Atari DO8, Jerrett M9, Brauer M10, Brook JR11, Cakmak S1, Burnett RT1

J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2015 Sep-Oct;25(5):482-9. Epub 2015 Jan 21.

doi: 10.1038/jes.2014.89

 

Abstract:

The independent and joint effects of within- and between-city contrasts in air pollution on mortality have been investigated rarely. To examine the differential effects of between- versus within-city contrasts in pollution exposure, we used both ambient measurements and land use regression models to assess associations with mortality and exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) among ~735,600 adults in 10 of the largest Canadian cities. We estimated exposure contrasts partitioned into within- and between-city contrasts, and the sum of these as overall exposures, for every year from 1984 to 2006. Residential histories allowed us to follow subjects annually during the study period. We calculated hazard ratios (HRs) adjusted for many personal and contextual variables. In fully-adjusted, random-effects models, we found positive associations between overall NO2 exposures and mortality from non-accidental causes (HR per 5 p.p.b.: 1.05; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.03-1.07), cardiovascular disease (HR per 5 p.p.b.: 1.04; 95% CI: 1.01-1.06), ischaemic heart disease (HR per 5 p.p.b.: 1.05; 95% CI: 1.02-1.08) and respiratory disease (HR per 5 p.p.b.: 1.04; 95% CI: 0.99-1.08), but not from cerebrovascular disease (HR per 5 p.p.b.: 1.01; 95% CI: 0.96-1.06). We found that most of these associations were determined by within-city contrasts, as opposed to by between-city contrasts in NO2. Our results suggest that variation in NO2 concentrations within a city may represent a more toxic mixture of pollution than variation between cities.

 

August 7 | 2017

Spatial Transferability of a Microresidential Mobility Model in the Integrated Land Use, Transportation, and Environment Modeling System

Fatmi, M.R. and Habib, M.A. (2015)

Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board No. 2496, pp. 29-36

https://doi.org/10.3141/2494-04

Abstract

This paper presents the spatial transferability analysis of a microbehavioral model from the residential mobility component of the integrated land use, transportation, and environment (ILUTE) modeling system developed and implemented in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, Ontario, Canada. The study examined whether ILUTE could be spatially transferred with the current model components to a different geographic area: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The residential mobility component within ILUTE is a continuous-time, hazard-based duration model, developed with retrospective survey data from the Residential Mobility Survey 2 in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. This study developed a similar continuous-time, hazard-based duration model for the residential mobility decisions of households in Halifax on the basis of retrospective survey data from a household mobility and travel survey. The model results suggested that households in Halifax and the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area exhibited profound differences in residential mobility decisions. Sociodemographic, dwelling, and neighborhood characteristics significantly affected residential mobility decisions in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. The effects of land use and accessibility measures were noteworthy for Halifax. For instance, home-to-work distances in Halifax affected the decision to move; however, such an effect could not be confirmed in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. Households’ first periods of residence after household formation in a residential location were shorter in Halifax than in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. It was concluded that the direct transfer of micromodels from one spatial context to another could be difficult.

 

July 31 | 2017

Statistical modeling of the spatial variability of environmental noise levels in Montreal, Canada, using noise measurements and land use characteristics.

Martina S RagettliSophie GoudreauCéline PlanteMichel FournierMarianne HatzopoulouStéphane Perron and Audrey Smargiassi

Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2016 Nov;26(6):597-605. doi: 10.1038/jes.2015.82. Epub 2016 Jan 6

10.1038/jes.2015.82

ABSTRACT: The availability of noise maps to assess exposure to noise is often limited, especially in North American cities. We developed land use regression (LUR) models for LAeq24h, Lnight, and Lden to assess the long-term spatial variability of environmental noise levels in Montreal, Canada, considering various transportation noise sources (road, rail, and air). To explore the effects of sampling duration, we compared our LAeq24h levels that were computed over at least five complete contiguous days of measurements to shorter sampling periods (20 min and 24 h). LUR models were built with General Additive Models using continuous 2-min noise measurements from 204 sites. Model performance (adjusted R2) was 0.68, 0.59, and 0.69 for LAeq24h, Lnight, and Lden, respectively. Main predictors of measured noise levels were road-traffic and vegetation variables. Twenty-minute non-rush hour measurements corresponded well with LAeq24h levels computed over 5 days at road-traffic sites (bias: -0.7 dB(A)), but not at rail (-2.1 dB(A)) nor at air (-2.2 dB(A)) sites. Our study provides important insights into the spatial variation of environmental noise levels in a Canadian city. To assess long-term noise levels, sampling strategies should be stratified by noise sources and preferably should include 1 week of measurements at locations exposed to rail and aircraft noise.

 

July 24 | 2017

Regional Climate Projections of Extreme Heat Events in Nine Pilot Canadian Communities for Public Health Planning

Casati, B., Yagouti, A., Chaumont, D. (2013), JAMC, vol. 52, 2669:2698

https://doi.org/10.1175/JAMC-D-12-0341.1

ABSTRACT: Public health planning needs the support of evidence-based information on current and future climate, which could be used by health professionals and decision makers to better understand and respond to the health impacts of extreme heat. Climate models provide information regarding the expected increase in temperatures and extreme heat events with climate change and can help predict the severity of future health impacts, which can be used in the public health sector for the development of adaptation strategies to reduce heat-related morbidity and mortality. This study analyzes the evolution of extreme temperature indices specifically defined to characterize heat events associated with health risks, in the context of a changing climate. The analysis is performed by using temperature projections from the Canadian Regional Climate Model.

 

July 17 | 2017

Large-scale physical activity data reveal worldwide activity inequality

Tim Althoff, Rok Sosič, Jennifer L. Hicks, Abby C. King, Scott L. Delp & Jure Leskovec., 2017.  Nature, Published online 10 July 2017.

https://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature23018.htmldoi:10.1038/nature23018

Using data captured from smartphones, researchers have amassed a dataset consisting of 68 million days of physical activity for 717,527 people to study activity across the globe.

As described in the abstract: “Aspects of the built environment, such as the walkability of a city, are associated with a smaller gender gap in activity and lower activity inequality. In more walkable cities, activity is greater throughout the day and throughout the week, across age, gender, and body mass index (BMI) groups, with the greatest increases in activity found for females. Our findings have implications for global public health policy and urban planning and highlight the role of activity inequality and the built environment in improving physical activity and health.”