Asthma and Air Pollution in the Los Angeles Area. Technical Report
Asthma and Air Pollution in the Los Angeles Area. Technical Report

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 1980

Total Pages:

ISBN-13:

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Daily asthma attack diaries of sixteen panels of asthmatics residing in the Los Angeles area were collected by the Environmental Protection Agency for 34 week periods during the years 1972 to 1975. These data are examined here for the relationship between daily attack occurrence and daily levels of photochemical oxidant, total suspended particulates, minimum temperature, relative humidity, and average wind speed. A separate multiple logistic regression is used for each panelist's attack data. Variables representing the presence or absence of attack on the preceding day, as well as day of week and time since the start of the study, are included in the regressions. The most significant predictor of attacks was the presence of an attack on the preceding day. On the average, the panelists tended to have increased attacks on days with high oxidant and particulate pollution, on cool days, and during the first two months of the study. Panelists' attack propensity also differed by day of week; in particular they had more attacks on Saturdays (the last day of the weekly reporting period) than on Sundays. Each panelist's regression coefficients are classified according to his age, sex, hay fever status and self-assessed attack precursors; this classification is used to examine subgroups among the panelists with high coefficients corresponding to the above factors.

Air Pollution and Community Health
Air Pollution and Community Health

Author: Frederick W. Lipfert

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 1994-05-17

Total Pages: 580

ISBN-13: 9780471285601

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Air Pollution and Community Health A Critical Review and Data Sourcebook Frederick W. Lipfert Air pollution has affected community health since the advent of the industrial age and arguably since the discovery of fire. While organized societies have taken important steps to reduce and control emissions, the quality of the air we breathe today remains a critical concern. Air Pollution and Community Health transforms the major epidemiological works of the past 40 years into a coherent picture of the effects of air pollution on respiration, hospitalization, and mortality. The book re-evaluates these studies to clarify their findings within a consistent analytical framework and to define statistical relationships between various measures of community health and air quality. Lipfert emphasizes observational studies and the quality of the data used. The book is organized by health endpoint rather than by pollutant, beginning with the major air pollution disasters that helped galvanize the environmental revolution. His analysis shows that community air pollution acts primarily to exacerbate existing conditions in susceptible individuals, rather than to create new cases of respiratory disease. He concludes that "the alarms that sounded over 40 years ago are still ringing"--substantial health risks are still presented by the current urban mixtures of air pollution. Many of the studies reviewed suggest that the current ambient air quality standards required by the Clean Air Act fail to protect the health of the most susceptible individuals. Further, because of the role of natural sources of air pollution, questions are raised as to whether complete protection can ever be achieved. The book presents data from many of the epidemiological studies reviewed, including those of the major disasters of 1930-1960. Graphical presentations are featured for easy reference; many new analyses are presented here for the first time. The book also includes introductory chapters on air pollution, statistical analysis, and respiratory physiology, for the convenience of readers who may not be well versed in all of these topics. The major technical chapters on mortality and hospitalization include reviews of the effects of air pollution episodes, time-series analyses, cross-sectional studies, and long-term studies of pollution abatement. The chapters on respiratory function include both the effects of air pollution on function and the role of lung function as an independent predictor of longevity. Air Pollution and Community Health presents one of the first comprehensive analyses of the subject. It should be used to re-examine the effectiveness of air pollution research and control policies in the United States and is essential reading for all professionals involved in air pollution control or public health.