ABSTRACT
Urban air pollution represents a major problem affecting millions of people around the world. It has been considered by the World Health Organization (WHO) as responsible for 865,000 yearly deaths and 1.1 years of life lost due to premature mortality (DALYs)/1000 capita per year in urban settings worldwide (WHO, 2007). Epidemiological studies have provided most of the evidence linking air pollution to human disease (Samet and Krewski, 2007). Adverse health conditions and diseases affecting the respiratory and cardiovascular systems of vulnerable populations, such as children, the elderly, and those with preexisting cardiopulmonary illnesses, represent the main health concerns related to air pollution. Included among these health endpoints are increased cardiopulmonary mortality, asthma exacerbation, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), decreased heart rate variability,
9.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................249 9.2 Pulmonary Effects of PM ............................................................................. 253 9.3 Translocation of PM ..................................................................................... 257 9.4 Extrapulmonary Effects Induced by PM ...................................................... 258 9.5 Oxidative Stress Induced by PM .................................................................. 259 9.6 Carcinogenic Responses Induced by PM ..................................................... 262 9.7 Conclusions, Controversies, and Future Directions ......................................265 9.8 Concluding Points ......................................................................................... 267 Acknowledgments ..................................................................................................268 References ..............................................................................................................268
hypercoagulability state, impaired lung function growth in children, and lung cancer, among others (Kunzli and Tager, 2005; Pope and Dockery, 2006; Samet and Krewski, 2007). Recently, attention has been paid to health outcomes affecting other systems, manifested as low birth weight (Bell et al., 2007) and the induction of chromosomal abnormalities in children (Pedersen et al., 2006). All these effects have been associated predominately with at least one of the so-called criteria pollutants that are routinely measured to assess air quality in most cities around the world. Criteria pollutants include airborne particulate matter (PM), ozone (O3), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO) and lead (Pb) (US-EPA, 2006). Given that this chapter focuses on PM, a description of this pollutant will follow.
