| Assessment of Health Effects in Epidemiologic Studies of Air Pollution Jonathan M. Samet1* and Frank E. Speizer2 1Pulmonary and Critical Care Division, Department of
Medicine; and the New Mexico Tumor Registry, Cancer Center, University of
New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131; 2The Channing Laboratory,
Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School,
Boston, MA 02115 Abstract
As we increasingly recognize the complexity of the pollutants in indoor and outdoor microenvironments, a broad array of inhaled mixtures has assumed scientific, public health, and regulatory importance. Few adverse effects of environmental pollutants are specific, that is, uniquely associated with a single agent ; the adverse effects that might be considered in an investigation of the consequences of exposure to an inhaled complex mixture are generally nonspecific. In the context of this paper, we will refer to binary mixtures as complex, though we realize that a more precise definition of complexity would restrict the term to mixtures of three or more constituents. Their causes potentially include not only pollutant exposures through the medium of inhaled air but other environmental agents, such as infectious organisms and radiation, and inherent characteristics of the exposed persons, such as atopy. We review the outcome measures that have been used in epidemiologic studies of the health effects of single pollutants and complex mixtures. Some of these outcome measures have been carefully standardized, whereas others need similar standardization and modification to improve sensitivity and specificity for investigating the health effects of air pollution. -- Environ Health Perspect 101(Suppl 4) : 149-154 (1993) . Key Words: Complex mixtures, health outcomes, lung function, respiratory symptoms, respiratory illness
The full version of this article is available for free in HTML format. |
