Description

Reduction in years of life  due to premature mortality in comparison with standard life expectancy

(Morbidity): Long-term (annual) incidence of chronic bronchitis due to poor air quality calculated using atmospheric NO2 and PM10 data

(Mortality): Long-term (annual) incidence of mortality due to poor air quality calculated using atmospheric PM2.5, PM10, O3 and NO2 data

Scale as linked to D2.2 framework

• National
• City
• Neighborhood 
• Street

Data source [ link to data framework]

• air quality monitoring network
• Census information re. mortality

Data needs

• i) involved pollutants and their air concentration levels,
• ii) health indicators analysed in terms of morbidity and mortality,
• iii) affected age groups, and
• iv) exposure time

Expected Outputs

• Daily, weekly, monthly or annual measurements

Calculation methods

• The general approach in health impact assessment is to use exposure-response functions, linking the concentration of pollutants to which the population is exposed to the number of health events occurring in that population (Costa et al., 2014; Silveira et al., 2016). Therefore, the following aspects are usually considered: i) involved pollutants and their air concentration levels, ii) health indicators analysed in terms of morbidity and mortality, iii) affected age groups, and iv) exposure time. The health response is usually calculated by:
• 
• Morbidity (chronic bronchitis) due to poor air quality is calculated using NO2 and PM10 to determine CRF and ΔC in the preceding equation.
• Mortality, assessed as total mortality, is calculated using PM10, PM2.5, O3 and NO2 to determine CRF and ΔC in the preceding equation.
• Both morbidity and mortality are based on long-term (annual) effects (Table). Where air quality data are derived from WRF-Chem results can be calculated on a daily/weekly/monthly/annual basis at the grid, neighbourhood or city scale
• 
• 
• Years of life lost (YoLL) is an often-used health indicator, and refers to the total number of years of reduced life due to premature mortality. Using the mortality indicator, the YoLL can be calculated as the number of deaths multiplied by a standard life expectancy at the age at which death occurs (see Gardner & Sanborn, 1990)

Links and references

• Costa, S., Ferreira, J., Silveira, C., Costa, C., Lopes, D., Relvas, H., … Teixeira, J.P. (2014). Integrating Health on Air Quality Assessment-Review Report on Health Risks of Two Major European Outdoor Air Pollutants: PM and NO2. Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health - Part B Critical Reviews, 17(6), 307-340.
• Gardner, J.W., & Sanborn, J.S. (1990). Years of potential life lost (YPLL) – what does it measure? Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.), 1(4), 322–329.
• Pascal, M., Corso, M., Ung, A., Declercq, C., Medina, S. & Aphekom. (2011). APHEKON-Improving knowledge and communication for decision making on air pollution and health in Europe, Guidelines for assessing the health impacts of air pollution in European cities, Work Package 5, Deliverable D5. Saint-Maurice, France: French Institute for Public Health Surveillance.
• Silveira C., Roebeling P., Lopes M., Ferreira J., Costa S., Teixeira J.P., ... Miranda A.I. (2016). Assessment of health benefits related to air quality improvement strategies in urban areas: An Impact Pathway Approach. Journal of Environmental Management, 183, 694-702