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Air pollution interventions and their impact on public health

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International Journal of Public Health

Abstract

Introduction

Numerous epidemiological studies have found a link between air pollution and health. We are reviewing a collection of published intervention studies with particular focus on studies assessing both improvements in air quality and associated health effects.

Methods

Interventions, defined as events aimed at reducing air pollution or where reductions occurred as a side effect, e.g. strikes, German reunification, from the 1960s onwards were considered for inclusion. This review is not a complete record of all existing air pollution interventions. In total, 28 studies published in English were selected based on a systematic search of internet databases.

Results

Overall air pollution interventions have succeeded at improving air quality. Consistently published evidence suggests that most of these interventions have been associated with health benefits, mainly by the way of reduced cardiovascular and/or respiratory mortality and/or morbidity. The decrease in mortality from the majority of the reviewed interventions has been estimated to exceed the expected predicted figures based on the estimates from time-series studies.

Conclusion

There is consistent evidence that decreased air pollution levels following an intervention resulted in health benefits for the assessed population.

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Acknowledgments

The Aphekom project was funded jointly by the European Commission’s Programme on Community Action in the Field of Public Health (2003–2008) under Grant Agreement No. 2007105 (54.39 %), and by the many institutions that have dedicated resources to the fulfilment of this city-based project (45.61 %). This project could not have been possible without the invaluable contribution of the Aphekom collaborative network.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dublin Institute of Technology, Dublin, Ireland

    Susann Henschel & Patrick G. Goodman

  2. St. George’s, University of London, London, UK

    Richard Atkinson

  3. Brunel University, London, UK

    Ariana Zeka

  4. French Institute for Public Health Surveillance, InVS, Paris, France

    Alain Le Tertre, Mathilde Pascal & Sylvia Medina

  5. Department of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, Medical School, University of Athens, Athens, Greece

    Antonis Analitis & Klea Katsouyanni

  6. National Center for Scientific Research, GREQAM and IDEP, Marseille, France

    Olivier Chanel

  7. Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden

    Bertil Forsberg

Authors
  1. Susann Henschel
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  2. Richard Atkinson
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  3. Ariana Zeka
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  4. Alain Le Tertre
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  5. Antonis Analitis
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  7. Olivier Chanel
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  9. Bertil Forsberg
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  10. Sylvia Medina
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  11. Patrick G. Goodman
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Susann Henschel.

Additional information

B. Forsberg and S. Medina on behalf of the Aphekom Collaborative Network. A detailed list of the Aphekom collaborative network is provided as an electronic appendix “Online Appendix I. Aphekom collaborative network”.

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Henschel, S., Atkinson, R., Zeka, A. et al. Air pollution interventions and their impact on public health. Int J Public Health 57, 757–768 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-012-0369-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-012-0369-6

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