Local- and regional-scale air pollution modelling (PM10) and exposure assessment for pregnancy trimesters, infancy, and childhood to age 15 years: Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents And Children (ALSPAC)

• Published in: Environment international Vol. 113; pp. 10 - 19
• Main Authors: Gulliver, John, Elliott, Paul, Henderson, John, Hansell, Anna L., Vienneau, Danielle, Cai, Yutong, McCrea, Adrienne, Garwood, Kevin, Boyd, Andy, Neal, Lucy, Agnew, Paul, Fecht, Daniela, Briggs, David, de Hoogh, Kees
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier Ltd 01.04.2018; Elsevier Science; Elsevier
• Subjects: adolescence; Adolescent; Air pollution; ALSPAC; Child; Child, Preschool; childhood; children; Dispersion modelling; Environmental Exposure - analysis; epidemiological studies; Exposure assessment; exposure duration; Female; Humans; infancy; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Longitudinal Studies; Mother-child; parents; Particulate Matter - analysis; particulates; PM10; Pregnancy; roads; temporal variation; Air pollution; PM10; ALSPAC; Dispersion modelling; Mother-child; Exposure assessment; PM
• ISSN: 0160-4120; 1873-6750; 1873-6750
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2018.01.017

We established air pollution modelling to study particle (PM10) exposures during pregnancy and infancy (1990–1993) through childhood and adolescence up to age ~15 years (1991–2008) for the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents And Children (ALSPAC) birth cohort. For pregnancy trimesters and infancy (birth to 6 months; 7 to 12 months) we used local (ADMS-Urban) and regional/long-range (NAME-III) air pollution models, with a model constant for local, non-anthropogenic sources. For longer exposure periods (annually and the average of birth to age ~8 and to age ~15 years to coincide with relevant follow-up clinics) we assessed spatial contrasts in local sources of PM10 with a yearly-varying concentration for all background sources. We modelled PM10 (μg/m3) for 36,986 address locations over 19 years and then accounted for changes in address in calculating exposures for different periods: trimesters/infancy (n = 11,929); each year of life to age ~15 (n = 10,383). Intra-subject exposure contrasts were largest between pregnancy trimesters (5th to 95th centile: 24.4–37.3 μg/m3) and mostly related to temporal variability in regional/long-range PM10. PM10 exposures fell on average by 11.6 μg/m3 from first year of life (mean concentration = 31.2 μg/m3) to age ~15 (mean = 19.6 μg/m3), and 5.4 μg/m3 between follow-up clinics (age ~8 to age ~15). Spatial contrasts in 8-year average PM10 exposures (5th to 95th centile) were relatively low: 25.4–30.0 μg/m3 to age ~8 years and 20.7–23.9 μg/m3 from age ~8 to age ~15 years. The contribution of local sources to total PM10 was 18.5%–19.5% during pregnancy and infancy, and 14.4%–17.0% for periods leading up to follow-up clinics. Main roads within the study area contributed on average ~3.0% to total PM10 exposures in all periods; 9.5% of address locations were within 50 m of a main road. Exposure estimates will be used in a number of planned epidemiological studies. [Display omitted] •PM10 exposure assessment for a large birth cohort (pregnancy, infancy, childhood)•Separate exposures for local (main roads, other) and regional/long-range sources.•Primary PM10 from local major roads on average was 3% of total PM10 exposures.•Largest contrasts for pregnancy trimesters (5th to 95th centile: 24.4–37.3 μg/m3)•Mean PM10 exposures fell from 31.2 μg/m3 age ~1 to 19.6 μg/m3 age ~15 years.