The case-crossover design uses cases only, and compares exposures just prior to the event times to exposures at comparable control, or 'referent' times, in order to assess the effect of short-term exposure on the risk of a rare event. It has commonly been used to study the effect of air pollution on the risk of various adverse health events. Proper selection of referents is crucial, especially ...

In recognition that intraurban exposure gradients may be as large as between-city variations, recent air pollution epidemiologic studies have become increasingly interested in capturing within-city exposure gradients. In addition, because of the rapidly accumulating health data, recent studies also need to handle large study populations distributed over large geographic domains. Even though sev...

The important role that non-motorized transport plays in urban sustainability is discussed with particular reference to the developing world and to the links between environmental and poverty issues. The significance of non-motorized transport in terms of reduced pollution, income maintenance for the poor and providing transport for vulnerable groups is stressed and placed within the general co...

It has been approximately ten (10) years since the first electrostatic precipitator was applied to an incinerator in the United States by the City of New York. Since that time, numerous installations have been made on various types of incinerators. This paper gives a brief description of the majority of the installations as well as actual performance data as compared to manufacturers' guarantee...

Previous studies suggest that pregnant women and children are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of air pollution. A prospective cohort study in pregnant women and their children enables identification of the specific effects and critical periods. This paper describes the design of air pollution exposure assessment for participants of the Generation R Study, a population-based prosp...

This study aimed to quantify air pollution impact on morbidity and mortality in the Brazilian urban population using locally generated impact factors. Concentration-response coefficients were used to estimate the number of hospitalizations and deaths attributable to air pollution in seven Brazilian cities. Poisson regression coefficients (beta) were obtained from time-series studies conducted i...

The health effects of air pollution include increases in Air pollution on Pdient visits in &be 1 severity and incidence of asthma. exacerbation of COPD. increase California faces both increasing air temperatures as well as air pollution. This conclusion is being drawn by many non-scientists who simply observe daily atmospheric conditions: more hot days exist in many areas of California and many...

Numerous studies have observed health effects of particulate air pollution. Compared to early studies that focused on severe air pollution episodes, recent studies are more relevant to understanding health effects of pollution at levels common to contemporary cities in the developed world. We review recent epidemiologic studies that evaluated health effects of particulate air pollution and conc...

In this article I introduce an alternative method for estimating particulate air pollution mortality concentration-response functions. This method constrains the particulate air pollution mortality concentration-response function to be biologically plausible--that is, a non-decreasing function of the particulate air pollution concentration. Using time-series data from Cook County, Illinois, the...