Publications by authors named "Ricardo Morales-Betancourt"

Exposome studies are advancing in high-income countries to understand how multiple environmental exposures impact health. However, there is a significant research gap in low- and middle-income and tropical countries. We aimed to describe the spatiotemporal variation of the external exposome, its correlation structure between and within exposure groups, and its dimensionality.

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Ambient air pollution is a health concern in Latin America given its large urban population exposed to levels above recommended guidelines. Yet no studies have examined the mortality impact of air pollutants in the region across a wide range of cities. We assessed whether short-term levels of fine particulate matter (PM) from modeled estimates, are associated with cardiovascular and respiratory mortality among adults in 337 cities from 9 Latin American countries.

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Background: Air pollution contains a mixture of different pollutants from multiple sources. However, the interaction of these pollutants with other environmental exposures, as well as their harmful effects on children under five in tropical countries, is not well known.

Objective: This study aims to characterize the external exposome (ambient and indoor exposures) and its contribution to clinical respiratory and early biological effects in children.

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Commuters in urban settlements are frequently exposed to high concentrations of air pollutants due to their proximity to mobile sources, making exposure to traffic-related air pollutants an important public health issue. Recent trends in urban transport towards zero- and low-tailpipe emission alternatives will likely result in decreased exposure to air pollutants. The TrUST (Urban transformations and health) study offers a unique opportunity to understand the impacts of a new cable car (TransMiCable) in underserved communities within Bogotá, Colombia.

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Commuters are often exposed to higher concentrations of air pollutants due to its proximity to mobile sources. Despite recent trends in urban transport toward zero- and low-tailpipe emission alternatives, the assessments of the impact of these transformations on commuter exposure are limited by the low frequency of such studies. In this work, we use a unique data set of personal exposure concentration measurements collected over the span of 5 years to analyze changes due to the introduction of a new fleet for Bogotá's Bus Rapid Transit System.

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Background: Air pollution in most countries exceeds the levels recommended by the World Health Organization, causing up to one-third of deaths due to noncommunicable diseases. Fine particulate matter (PM) and black carbon (BC) from mobile sources are the main contaminants.

Objective: The aim of this study is to assess the relationship of exposure to air pollutants (PM and BC) in microenvironments according to respiratory health and physical activity in users traveling by different types of transportation in Bogotá, Colombia.

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Background: Exposure to particulate matter (PM) is a major risk factor for morbidity and mortality. Yet few studies have examined patterns of population exposure and investigated the predictors of PM across the rapidly growing cities in lower- and middle-income countries.

Objectives: Characterize PM levels, describe patterns of population exposure, and investigate urban factors as predictors of PM levels.

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Biomass burning (BB) emissions significantly deteriorate air quality in many regions worldwide, impact human health and perturbing Earth's radiation budget and climate. South America is one of largest contributors to BB emissions globally. After Amazonia, BB emissions from open and agricultural fires of Northern South America (NSA) are the most significant.

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