[The effects of air pollution on health, state of epidemiological knowledge].

Abstract

The health effects of air pollution have been recognized for many years. However, this area of research continues to receive increasing attention from both the scientific community and civil society. The aim of this article is to review the main epidemiological findings on the effects of outdoor air pollution. First, we will define outdoor air pollution, then describe how the exposure to different pollutants is estimated in epidemiology. Finally, we will present three examples of epidemiological studies on the effects of air pollution.