Time-Dependent Health Risks from Air Pollution

Dear Colleagues,

Observational studies of the impacts of air pollution have been extant in the literature for 70 years and have been the basis for air pollution control regulations worldwide. In recent decades, the emphasis has been on long-term mortality differences at specific times, among locations ranging from census tracts to entire nations—so-called cross-sectional studies. Others have analyzed acute responses to air pollution spikes at specific locations over periods of time, sometimes over decades, beginning with the notorious London fog in 1952. While all observational studies suffer from a lack of relevant information on individuals, notably smoking habits, socioeconomic status, and indoor air quality. Time series studies can hold those factors constant, but must control for time-dependent factors, including weather and days of the week. Just as cross-sectional studies have been fixed at certain times for a range of locations, time series studies are needed for a range of specific locations, reflecting their changes over time. This Special Issue encourages new studies on time-dependent air pollution health effects to expand the literature database and to facilitate overall assessments, building on methodological lessons that have been learned during this long period of development.

This Special Issue seeks epidemiological contributions in three related areas of temporal relationships: daily fluctuations; interventions—such as wildfires, accidents, fuel changes, and COVID-19 lockdowns—typically over periods ranging from weeks to months; longitudinal studies over periods ranging from years to decades. Endpoints of interest include mortality and various measures of morbidity, such as respiratory symptoms (including COVID-19), cardiovascular anomalies, and absence from work. Contributions are expected to adhere to established analytic guidelines including consideration of multiple pollutants, appropriate control of confounders, such as weather and season, and adequate consideration of and summation over lag periods. Accuracy and precision of air pollution exposure data should be discussed, including indoor environments. Reviews and papers challenging these guidelines will be considered, as well as comparisons with long-term studies.

Dr. Frederick Lipfert
Guest Editor

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• air pollution
• short-term exposure
• time series
• mortality
• morbidity
• intervention
• wildfires
• longitudinal
• lag effect
• lockdown