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Cortes S. Air pollution and environmental epidemiological evidence in Chile: alerts for decision-makers and citizens. J Epidemiol Community Health 2023:jech-2023-220594. [PMID: 38053279 DOI: 10.1136/jech-2023-220594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2023] [Accepted: 11/25/2023] [Indexed: 12/07/2023]
Abstract
Air pollution in Chile presents unique challenges, exacerbated by inequalities and geographical and climatic diversity. Current policies have not succeeded in aligning air quality with international and national standards, nor have they significantly mitigated public health impacts, despite being more advanced than those in other Latin American countries. The evidence on the health damages caused by air pollution is compelling, showing harmful acute and chronic effects across various life stages. Yet, current measures do not effectively reduce exposure to pollutants. The monitoring network, which reports data from stationary and mobile sources, does not always detect early fugitive emissions and is limited to regulated pollutants, leaving areas without adequate monitoring coverage and without management plans for critical episodes outside of autumn and winter and for a reduced number of pollutants. In the context of climate change, which increases the frequency of forest fires, Chile is experiencing a deterioration of air quality, highlighting the need to expand critical episode management beyond the current Air Pollution Prevention and/or Atmospheric Decontamination Plans. Integrated intersectoral plans need to be improved and extended to address the high exposure to pollutants, due to the large number of people exposed, and a broad population health risks, including quality of life. Decarbonisation by 2040 based on the Sustainable Development Goals is an important pillar of the strategy, but a public debate is needed to establish additional actions for addressing environmental injustice, improving equity and reducing current exposure to air pollutants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Cortes
- Public Health, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
- Advanced Center for Chronic Diseases (ACCDiS), Centro de Desarrollo Urbano Sustentable (CEDEUS), Santiago, Chile
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Mei Y, Zhao J, Zhou Q, Zhao M, Xu J, Li Y, Li K, Xu Q. Residential greenness attenuated association of long-term air pollution exposure with elevated blood pressure: Findings from polluted areas in Northern China. Front Public Health 2022; 10:1019965. [PMID: 36249254 PMCID: PMC9557125 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.1019965] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2022] [Accepted: 09/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Evidence on the hypertensive effects of long-term air pollutants exposure are mixed, and the joint hypertensive effects of air pollutants are also unclear. Sparse evidence exists regarding the modifying role of residential greenness in such effects. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in typically air-polluted areas in northern China. Particulate matter with diameter < 1 μm (PM1), particulate matter with diameter < 2.5 μm (PM2.5), particulate matter with diameter < 10 μm (PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and ozone (O3) were predicted by space-time extremely randomized trees model. We used the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) to reflect residential green space. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were examined. We also calculated the pulse pressure (PP) and mean arterial pressure (MAP). Generalized additive model and quantile g-computation were, respectively, conducted to investigate individual and joint effects of air pollutants on blood pressure. Furthermore, beneficial effect of NDVI and its modification effect were explored. Results Long-term air pollutants exposure was associated with elevated DBP and MAP. Specifically, we found a 10-μg/m3 increase in PM2.5, PM10, and SO2 were associated with 2.36% (95% CI: 0.97, 3.76), 1.51% (95% CI: 0.70, 2.34), and 3.54% (95% CI: 1.55, 5.56) increase in DBP; a 10-μg/m3 increase in PM2.5, PM10, and SO2 were associated with 1.84% (95% CI: 0.74, 2.96), 1.17% (95% CI: 0.52, 1.83), and 2.43% (95% CI: 0.71, 4.18) increase in MAP. Air pollutants mixture (one quantile increase) was positively associated with increased values of DBP (8.22%, 95% CI: 5.49, 11.02) and MAP (4.15%, 95% CI: 2.05, 6.30), respectively. These identified harmful effect of air pollutants mainly occurred among these lived with low NDVI values. And participants aged ≥50 years were more susceptible to the harmful effect of PM2.5 and PM10 compared to younger adults. Conclusions Our study indicated the harmful effect of long-term exposure to air pollutants and these effects may be modified by living within higher green space place. These evidence suggest increasing residential greenness and air pollution control may have simultaneous effect on decreasing the risk of hypertension.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yayuan Mei
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China,Center of Environmental and Health Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Jiaxin Zhao
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China,Center of Environmental and Health Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Quan Zhou
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China,Center of Environmental and Health Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Meiduo Zhao
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China,Center of Environmental and Health Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Jing Xu
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China,Center of Environmental and Health Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Yanbing Li
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China,Center of Environmental and Health Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Kai Li
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China,Center of Environmental and Health Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Qun Xu
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China,Center of Environmental and Health Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China,*Correspondence: Qun Xu
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