Strategy to evaluate health risks of air pollution episodes in vulnerable individuals (R-7952)

Projected climate change could lead to exacerbation of respiratory disorders associated with reduced air quality, in particular with high levels of ozone (O3) and particulate matter (PM) in urban and rural areas. Therefore, the increase of air pollution related to climate change represents a major threat to public health and especially for the most vulnerable population strata, including children and the elderly. In the PMOlluGENix-V2 Pioneer project, we aim to develop generic standardized policy supporting tools and methods to evaluate the risks of the combined effect of O3 and PM during pollution episodes in vulnerable individuals on the cardiorespiratory system by the measurement of sensitive indicators of airway damage or inflammation and of genetic and epigenetic variations. We will examine children (9-11 year old) with outside activities in and outside polluted cities during summer and winter. The tests will be performed immediately after the pollution peaks and baseline value tests will be performed in the absence of pollution. These results will be compared to epidemiological observations during the pollution episode with the goal to provide a quantification of the health impact during the pollution episodes. This pioneer research will allow designing the most effective large scale epidemiological studies to evaluate the risks of the combined effect of O3 and PM during pollution episodes in future studies.

Keywords:(epi)genetics, biomarkers, Climate, epidemiology, ozone

Disciplines:General biology, Plant biology

Project type:Collaboration project