Combinations of Epidemiological and Experimental Studies in Air Pollution Research: A Narrative Review

• Main Authors: Hannah Weisenberg, Tianyu Zhao, Joachim Heinrich
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-01-01
• Series: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Subjects: air pollution; epidemiological methods; animal experimentation; human experimentation; particulate matter
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/2/385

Scientific literature is evolving to include more systematic reviews that encompass epidemiological and experimental papers so that the whole picture can be examined. The aim of this narrative review is to bridge that gap by combining epidemiological and experimental studies based on the same setting: Examples of Bitterfeld, Utah Valley, Beijing Olympic Games, and Viadana. This review looks at four examples that incorporate multiple epidemiological and experimental papers about air pollution exposure and health effects. The Bitterfeld (spatial) and Utah Valley (temporal) examples showed that particle composition causes the biggest difference in lung injury. In Beijing, a temporal difference of before/after and during the Olympics showed that traffic and industry air pollution-related health effects like lung cancer and cardiovascular disease could be reduced by improvement of air quality. The Viadana example showed a spatial difference in respiratory injury caused by particle composition and interactions with genotoxicity. Combining experimental and epidemiological methods gives a more in-depth look into the whole picture of exposure and health effects. Our review exemplifies the strength of this strategy and encourages further use of it.