Grantee Research Project Results
2013 Progress Report: A Multi-City Time-Series Study of Pollutant Mixtures and Acute Morbidity
EPA Grant Number: R834799C004Subproject: this is subproject number 004 , established and managed by the Center Director under grant R834799
(EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
Center: Vanderbilt Pittsburgh Resource for Organotypic Models for Predictive Toxicology
Center Director: Hutson, Michael Shane
Title: A Multi-City Time-Series Study of Pollutant Mixtures and Acute Morbidity
Investigators: Sarnat, Stefanie Ebelt , Winquist, Andrea , Russell, Armistead G. , Talbott, Evelynn , Mulholland, James , Darrow, Lyndsey , Klein, Mitchel , Tolbert, Paige , Bilonick, Richard
Institution: Emory University , Georgia Institute of Technology
EPA Project Officer: Chung, Serena
Project Period: January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2016
Project Period Covered by this Report: August 1, 2012 through July 31,2013
RFA: Clean Air Research Centers (2009) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Human Health , Air
Objective:
Although associations between ambient air pollution and acute cardiorespiratory outcomes have been observed in numerous studies, questions remain about the degree to which these findings are generalizable between locations and whether the observed health effects are due to the individual pollutants measured or to pollutants acting in combination with other pollutants. In Project 4, we are conducting a multi-city time-series study to clarify the impacts of air quality on acute cardiorespiratory morbidity in five US cities (Atlanta, GA; Birmingham, AL; Dallas, TX; Pittsburgh, PA; St. Louis, IL-MO) using novel mixture characterization metrics. Our overarching hypothesis is that factors related to air pollution mixtures, seasonality and climate, concentration-response functions, exposure measurement error, and population susceptibility and vulnerability can help explain apparent between-city heterogeneity in short-term associations between air quality measures and cardiorespiratory emergency department (ED) visits and hospital admissions (HAs).
Progress Summary:
During the current reporting period, work on Project 4 has focused on data management activities, and furthering work on single- and multi-city epidemiologic analyses, with a focus on applying spatially-resolved air quality metrics and on approaches to studying air pollution mixtures. Database development. Database activities included air quality, health outcome, and mapping focuses. We finalized our initial approach to calculating daily population-weighted averages for multiple pollutants and these data were shared among center investigators for all cities in fall 2012. Since this time, to enable more appropriate comparison of pollutant concentrations across the five cities, a revised approach to calculating population-weighted averages was developed involving fusion of monitoring and CMAQ modeled data. Data for this metric are anticipated for completion in August 2013. Health outcome data for Atlanta, Dallas, and St. Louis are complete. In the past year, data collection and processing of Birmingham and Pittsburgh data have been brought near completion. Finally, a geodatabase for the project was set up for mapping of air quality monitoring sites, hospital locations, and other study characteristics in a consistent fashion across all study areas. Data analyses and planning. A number of activities were conducted over the project period: 1) evaluated metrics for characterizing socioeconomic status at the ZIP code level among the five study areas; 2) examined study design issues for comparing epidemiologic results among the five cities (e.g., temporal and spatial extent of available data) and progression of analyses; 3) continued single-city epidemiological analyses for Atlanta and St. Louis, and began epidemiologic analyses for Dallas; 4) continued efforts on application of spatially-refined modeled estimates of ambient concentrations and population exposures in Atlanta epidemiologic analyses; 5) with the Air Quality Core, continued work on applying PM2.5 components data and PM2.5 source apportionment outputs to epidemiologic analyses in St. Louis, comparing results among multiple source apportionment approaches; 6) with the Air Quality and Biostatistics Cores, continued work on methods for detecting and analyzing air pollution mixtures using multi-pollutant monitoring data, including development of a mobile source indicators approach, self-organizing maps, classification and regression trees (C&RT), and assessing multi-pollutant joint effects; 7) began extension of C&RT analyses to the multi-city context (Atlanta, Dallas, and St. Louis); and 8) developed a statistical modeling approach to quantify projection uncertainties in future ambient ozone levels and their health impact due to climate change.
Future Activities:
Journal Articles on this Report : 19 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
| Other subproject views: | All 101 publications | 43 publications in selected types | All 42 journal articles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other center views: | All 338 publications | 139 publications in selected types | All 135 journal articles |
Supplemental Keywords:
ambient air, health effects, sensitive populations, dose-response, cumulative effects, epidemiology, exposure, air quality modeling, PM2.5, organics, elemental carbon, metals, oxidants, sulfates, source characterization, Scientific Discipline, Health, Health Risk Assessment, Risk Assessments, Environmental Monitoring, Biochemistry, children's health, particulate matter, ambient air monitoring, morbidity, climate change, air pollution, airshed modeling, ambient particle health effects, susceptibility, human health riskRelevant Websites:
www.scape.gatech.edu
Progress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractMain Center Abstract and Reports:
R834799 Vanderbilt Pittsburgh Resource for Organotypic Models for Predictive Toxicology Subprojects under this Center: (EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
R834799C001 Development and Deployment of an Instrumentation Suite for Comprehensive Air Quality Characterization Including Aerosol ROS
R834799C002 Examining In-Vehicle Pollution and Oxidative Stress in a Cohort of Daily Commuters
R834799C003 Novel Estimates of Pollutant Mixtures and Pediatric Health in Two Birth Cohorts
R834799C004 A Multi-City Time-Series Study of Pollutant Mixtures and Acute Morbidity
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.
Project Research Results
- Final Report
- 2015 Progress Report
- 2014 Progress Report
- 2012 Progress Report
- 2011 Progress Report
- Original Abstract
42 journal articles for this subproject
Main Center: R834799
338 publications for this center
135 journal articles for this center