Particulate matter 2.5 (PM) - associated cognitive impairment and morbidity in humans and animal models: a systematic review.

Particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 2.5 µm (PM) is one of the criteria air pollutants that (1) serve as an essential carrier of airborne toxicants arising from combustion-related events including emissions from industries, automobiles, and wildfires and (2) play an important role in transient to long-lasting cognitive dysfunction as well as several other neurological disorders. A systematic review was conducted to address differences in study design and various biochemical and molecular markers employed to elucidate neurological disorders in PM -exposed humans and animal models.

Short-Term total and wildfire fine particulate matter exposure and work loss in California.

Background: Few studies investigated the impact of particulate matter (PM) on some symptom exacerbations that are not perceived as severe enough to search for medical assistance. We aimed to study the association of short-term daily total PM exposure with work loss due to sickness among adults living in California.

Methods: We included 44,544 adult respondents in the workforce from 2015 to 2018 California Health Interview Survey data.

Association of Cardiovascular Disease and Long-Term Exposure to Fine Particulate Matter (PM) in the Southeastern United States.

Unlabelled: There is a well-documented association between ambient fine particulate matter air pollution (PM) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Exposure to PM can cause premature death and harmful and chronic health effects such as heart attack, diabetes, and stroke. The Environmental Protection Agency sets annual PM standards to reduce these negative health effects.

The Effects of Social, Personal, and Behavioral Risk Factors and PM on Cardio-Metabolic Disparities in a Cohort of Community Health Center Patients.

(1) Background: Cardio-metabolic diseases (CMD), including cardiovascular disease, stroke, and diabetes, have numerous common individual and environmental risk factors. Yet, few studies to date have considered how these multiple risk factors together affect CMD disparities between Blacks and Whites. (2) Methods: We linked daily fine particulate matter (PM) measures with survey responses of participants in the Southern Community Cohort Study (SCCS).

Downscaling NLDAS-2 daily maximum air temperatures using MODIS land surface temperatures.

We have developed and applied a relatively simple disaggregation scheme that uses spatial patterns of Land Surface Temperature (LST) from MODIS warm-season composites to improve the spatial characterization of daily maximum and minimum air temperatures. This down-scaling model produces qualitatively reasonable 1 km daily maximum and minimum air temperature estimates that reflect urban and coastal features. In a 5-city validation, the model was shown to provide improved daily maximum air temperature estimates in the three coastal cities, compared to 12 km NLDAS-2 (North American Land Data Assimilation System).

Contribution of low-cost sensor measurements to the prediction of PM levels: A case study in Imperial County, California, USA.

Regulatory monitoring networks are often too sparse to support community-scale PM exposure assessment while emerging low-cost sensors have the potential to fill in the gaps. To date, limited studies, if any, have been conducted to utilize low-cost sensor measurements to improve PM prediction with high spatiotemporal resolutions based on statistical models. Imperial County in California is an exemplary region with sparse Air Quality System (AQS) monitors and a community-operated low-cost network entitled Identifying Violations Affecting Neighborhoods (IVAN).

Methods, availability, and applications of PM exposure estimates derived from ground measurements, satellite, and atmospheric models.

Fine particulate matter (PM) is a well-established risk factor for public health. To support both health risk assessment and epidemiological studies, data are needed on spatial and temporal patterns of PM exposures. This review article surveys publicly available exposure datasets for surface PM mass concentrations over the contiguous U.

Compilation and spatio-temporal analysis of publicly available total solar and UV irradiance data in the contiguous United States.

Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in the United States, the majority of which is caused by overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) irradiance, which is one component of sunlight. National Environmental Public Health Tracking Program at CDC has collaborated with partners to develop and disseminate county-level daily UV irradiance (2005-2015) and total solar irradiance (1991-2012) data for the contiguous United States. UV irradiance dataset was derived from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), and solar irradiance was extracted from National Solar Radiation Data Base (NSRDB) and SolarAnywhere data.

Estimating policy-relevant health effects of ambient heat exposures using spatially contiguous reanalysis data.

Background: Regional National Weather Service (NWS) heat advisory criteria in New York State (NYS) were based on frequency of heat events estimated by sparse monitoring data. These may not accurately reflect temperatures at which specific health risks occur in large geographic regions. The objectives of the study were to use spatially resolved temperature data to characterize health risks related to summertime heat exposure and estimate the temperatures at which excessive risk of heat-related adverse health occurs in NYS.

Fine Particulate Matter Pollution and Risk of Community-Acquired Sepsis.

While air pollution has been associated with health complications, its effect on sepsis risk is unknown. We examined the association between fine particulate matter (PM) air pollution and risk of sepsis hospitalization. We analyzed data from the 30,239 community-dwelling adults in the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) cohort linked with satellite-derived measures of PM data.

Reconnoitering the linkage between cardiovascular disease mortality and long-term exposures to outdoor environmental factors in the USA using remotely-sensed data.

This ecological study aimed to assess the association between long-term exposures to outdoor environmental factors and mortality rate from cardiovascular disease (CVD) in a diverse and spatially distributed population from 3,094 counties within the U.S. (n > 3,780,000 CVD deaths) using satellite-derived data of PM concentrations, sunlight, and maximum heat index.

Fine particulate matter and incident coronary heart disease in the REGARDS cohort.

Unlabelled: Chronic exposure to fine particulate matter (PM) is accepted as a causal risk factor for coronary heart disease (CHD). However, most of the evidence for this hypothesis is based upon cohort studies in whites, comprised of either only males or females who live in urban areas. It is possible that many estimates of the effect of chronic exposure to PM on risk for CHD do not generalize to more diverse samples.

Investigating the effects of environmental factors on autism spectrum disorder in the USA using remotely sensed data.

This study aimed to assess the association between exposures to outdoor environmental factors and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) prevalence in a diverse and spatially distributed population of 8-year-old children from the USA (n = 2,097,188) using the air quality index (AQI) of the US Environmental Protection Agency as well as satellite-derived data of PM concentrations, sunlight, and maximum heat index. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to determine whether the unhealthy AQI, PM, sunlight, and maximum heat index were related to the odds of ASD prevalence based on gender and race and taking into consideration the confounding factors of smoking and socioeconomic status. The logistic regression odds ratios for ASD per 10% increase in the unhealthy AQI were greater than 1 for all categories, indicating that unhealthy AQI is related to the odds of ASD prevalence.

The association of remotely sensed outdoor fine particulate matter with cancer incidence of respiratory system in the USA.

This study aimed to assess the association between exposure to fine particulate matter (PM) and respiratory system cancer incidence in the US population (n = 295,404,580) using a satellite-derived estimate of PM concentrations. Linear and logistic regression analyses were performed to determine whether PM was related to the odds of respiratory system cancer (RSC) incidence based on gender and race. Positive linear regressions were found between PM concentrations and the age-adjusted RSC incidence rates for all groups (Males, Females, Whites, and Blacks) except for Asians and American Indians.

Heat Maps of Hypertension, Diabetes Mellitus, and Smoking in the Continental United States.

Background: Geographic variations in cardiovascular mortality are substantial, but descriptions of geographic variations in major cardiovascular risk factors have relied on data aggregated to counties. Herein, we provide the first description of geographic variation in the prevalence of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and smoking within and across US counties.

Methods And Results: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of baseline risk factor measurements and latitude/longitude of participant residence collected from 2003 to 2007 in the REGARDS study (Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke).

Application of Citizen Science Risk Communication Tools in a Vulnerable Urban Community.

A public participatory geographical information systems (PPGIS) demographic, environmental, socioeconomic, health status portal was developed for the Stambaugh-Elwood (SE) community in Columbus, OH. We hypothesized that soil at SE residences would have metal concentrations above natural background levels. Three aims were developed that allowed testing of this hypothesis.

The public health exposome: a population-based, exposure science approach to health disparities research.

The lack of progress in reducing health disparities suggests that new approaches are needed if we are to achieve meaningful, equitable, and lasting reductions. Current scientific paradigms do not adequately capture the complexity of the relationships between environment, personal health and population level disparities. The public health exposome is presented as a universal exposure tracking framework for integrating complex relationships between exogenous and endogenous exposures across the lifespan from conception to death.

Sunlight exposure and cardiovascular risk factors in the REGARDS study: a cross-sectional split-sample analysis.

Background: Previous research has suggested that vitamin D and sunlight are related to cardiovascular outcomes, but associations between sunlight and risk factors have not been investigated. We examined whether increased sunlight exposure was related to improved cardiovascular risk factor status.

Methods: Residential histories merged with satellite, ground monitor, and model reanalysis data were used to determine previous-year sunlight radiation exposure for 17,773 black and white participants aged 45+ from the US.

Environmental Public Health Applications Using Remotely Sensed Data.

We describe a remote sensing and GIS-based study that has three objectives: (1) characterize fine particulate matter (PM), insolation and land surface temperature using NASA satellite observations, EPA ground-level monitor data and North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS) data products on a national scale; (2) link these data with public health data from the REasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) national cohort study to determine whether these environmental risk factors are related to cognitive decline, stroke and other health outcomes; and (3) disseminate the environmental datasets and public health linkage analyses to end users for decision-making through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (WONDER) system. This study directly addresses a public health focus of the NASA Applied Sciences Program, utilization of Earth Sciences products, by addressing issues of environmental health to enhance public health decision-making.

Fine particulate matter and incident cognitive impairment in the REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) cohort.

Studies of the effect of air pollution on cognitive health are often limited to populations living near cities that have air monitoring stations. Little is known about whether the estimates from such studies can be generalized to the U.S.

The relationship between long-term sunlight radiation and cognitive decline in the REGARDS cohort study.

Sunlight may be related to cognitive function through vitamin D metabolism or circadian rhythm regulation. The analysis presented here sought to test whether ground and satellite measures of solar radiation are associated with cognitive decline. The study used a 15-year residential history merged with satellite and ground monitor data to determine sunlight (solar radiation) and air temperature exposure for a cohort of 19,896 cognitively intact black and white participants aged 45+ from the 48 contiguous United States.

Short- and long-term sunlight radiation and stroke incidence.

Objective: Examine whether long- and short-term sunlight radiation is related to stroke incidence.

Methods: Fifteen-year residential histories merged with satellite, ground monitor, and model reanalysis data were used to determine sunlight radiation (insolation) and temperature exposure for a cohort of 16,606 stroke and coronary artery disease-free black and white participants aged ≥45 years from the 48 contiguous United States. Fifteen-, 10-, 5-, 2-, and 1-year exposures were used to predict stroke incidence during follow-up in Cox proportional hazard models.

Estimating ground-level PM(2.5) concentrations in the southeastern U.S. using geographically weighted regression.

Most of currently reported models for predicting PM(2.5) concentrations from satellite retrievals of aerosol optical depth are global methods without considering local variations, which might introduce significant biases into prediction results. In this paper, a geographically weighted regression model was developed to examine the relationship among PM(2.

Use of remotely sensed data to evaluate the relationship between living environment and blood pressure.

Background: Urbanization has been correlated with hypertension (HTN) in developing countries undergoing rapid economic and environmental transitions.

Objectives: We examined the relationships among living environment (urban, suburban, and rural), day/night land surface temperatures (LST), and blood pressure in selected regions from the REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) cohort. Also, the linking of data on blood pressure from REGARDS with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) science data is relevant to NASA's strategic goals and missions, particularly as a primary focus of the agency's Applied Sciences Program.