TY - JOUR
T1 - Methods Matter: A Comparative Review of Health Risk Assessments for Ambient Air Pollution in Switzerland
AU - Castro, Alberto
AU - Röösli, Martin
AU - de Hoogh, Kees
AU - Kappeler, Ron
AU - Kutlar Joss, Meltem
AU - Vienneau, Danielle
AU - Künzli, Nino
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2022 Castro, Röösli, de Hoogh, Kappeler, Kutlar Joss, Vienneau and Künzli.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - Objectives: Air pollution health risk assessments (AP-HRAs) provide a method to quantify health effects for entire populations. In Switzerland, AP-HRAs are included in Swiss assessments for Transport Externalities (STEs), ordered by public authorities since the 1990s. This study aimed to describe the differences among national and international AP-HRAs for Switzerland.Methods: We compared input data, approaches and results across AP-HRAs over time. Results and input data for each AP-HRA were expressed as a ratio compared to the most recent STE (in most cases STE-2010).Results: Substantial variation across AP-HRAs was found. For all-cause adult mortality attributed to particulate matter (the most frequent outcome-pollutant pair), the ratio in HRAs oscillated from 0.40 to 2.09 (times the STE-2010 value). Regarding input data, the ratio ranged from 0.69 to 1.26 for population exposure, from 0 to 1.81 for counterfactual scenario, from 0.96 to 1.13 for concentration-response function and from 1.03 to 1.13 for baseline health data.Conclusion: This study demonstrates that methods matter for AP-HRAs. Transparent and possibly standardized reporting of key input data and assumptions should be promoted to facilitate comparison of AP-HRAs.
AB - Objectives: Air pollution health risk assessments (AP-HRAs) provide a method to quantify health effects for entire populations. In Switzerland, AP-HRAs are included in Swiss assessments for Transport Externalities (STEs), ordered by public authorities since the 1990s. This study aimed to describe the differences among national and international AP-HRAs for Switzerland.Methods: We compared input data, approaches and results across AP-HRAs over time. Results and input data for each AP-HRA were expressed as a ratio compared to the most recent STE (in most cases STE-2010).Results: Substantial variation across AP-HRAs was found. For all-cause adult mortality attributed to particulate matter (the most frequent outcome-pollutant pair), the ratio in HRAs oscillated from 0.40 to 2.09 (times the STE-2010 value). Regarding input data, the ratio ranged from 0.69 to 1.26 for population exposure, from 0 to 1.81 for counterfactual scenario, from 0.96 to 1.13 for concentration-response function and from 1.03 to 1.13 for baseline health data.Conclusion: This study demonstrates that methods matter for AP-HRAs. Transparent and possibly standardized reporting of key input data and assumptions should be promoted to facilitate comparison of AP-HRAs.
KW - Switzerland,air pollution,Burden of Disease ,particulate matter,Health risk assessment
U2 - 10.3389/phrs.2022.1604431
DO - 10.3389/phrs.2022.1604431
M3 - Article
SN - 2107-6952
VL - 43
JO - Public Health Reviews
JF - Public Health Reviews
M1 - 1604431
ER -