COMMENTARY

Pollution

Self report and GIS based modelling as indicators of air pollution exposure: is there a gold standard?

F Forastiere¹, C Galassi²

¹ Department of Epidemiology, Rome E Health Authority, Rome, Italy
² Cancer Epidemiology Unit, CeRMS and Center for Cancer Prevention, University of Turin, Italy

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr F Forastiere
Department of Epidemiology, Rome E Health Authority, Via Santa Costanza, 53, 00198 Rome; forastiere@asplazio.it

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Commentary on the paper by Heinrich et al (see page 517)

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Keywords: air pollution; vehicle emission; exposure assessment; subjective assessment; geographic information system; GIS

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Exposure to traffic generated pollutants, especially among people living along busy roads, has been associated with increased risk of respiratory disorders among children and adults as well as with overall mortality.^1–5 Simple exposure indicators (self report, distance from pollutant sources, traffic density) and more complex and integrated models that take into account demographic factors and land use by means of geographic information system (GIS) based technology^6–8 have been employed in epidemiological studies.

As has happened in the past in occupational epidemiology, environmental epidemiologists are trying to develop more accurate methods for assessing air pollution exposure.⁹ As a result, comparing the different methods available is of great interest. In this issue, Heinrich et al have compared parental report of traffic intensity near homes (cars, trucks, buses, and mopeds on the street of residence and other nearby streets) with a combination of air pollution measures (fine particle mass, filter absorbance, and . . . [Full text of this article]

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Relevant Article

Exposure to traffic related air pollutants: self reported traffic intensity versus GIS modelled exposure

J Heinrich, U Gehring, J Cyrys, M Brauer, G Hoek, P Fischer, T Bellander, B Brunekreef
Occup. Environ. Med. 2005 62: 517-523. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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