Daniel J. Smith, Elizabeth Mizelle, Sharon L. Leslie, Grace X Li, Sheila Stone, P. Stauffer, Anna R. Smith, Gianna Lewis, E. L. Rodden, R. McDermott-Levy, Lisa M. Thompson
{"title":"Intervention studies to reduce the impact of climate change on health in rural communities in the United States: a systematic review","authors":"Daniel J. Smith, Elizabeth Mizelle, Sharon L. Leslie, Grace X Li, Sheila Stone, P. Stauffer, Anna R. Smith, Gianna Lewis, E. L. Rodden, R. McDermott-Levy, Lisa M. Thompson","doi":"10.1088/2752-5309/acbbe6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/2752-5309/acbbe6","url":null,"abstract":"Climate change, the greatest public health threat of the 21st century, will uniquely affect rural areas that are geographically isolated and experience greater health inequities. This systematic review describes and evaluates interventions to lessen the effects of climate change on human health in the rural United States, including interventions on air pollution, vector ecology, water quality, severe weather, extreme heat, allergens, and water and food supply. Searches were constructed based on the eight domains of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Framework “Impact of Climate Change on Human Health.” Searches were conducted in EBSCO Environment Complete, EBSCO GreenFILE, Embase.com, MEDLINE via PubMed, and Web of Science. Duplicate citations were removed, abstracts were screened for initial inclusion, and full texts were screened for final inclusion. Pertinent data were extracted and synthesized across the eight domains. Article quality was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Of 8471 studies screened, 297 were identified for full text review, and a total 49 studies were included in this review. Across the domains, 34 unique interventions addressed health outcomes due to air pollution (n = 8), changes in vector ecology (n = 6), water quality (n = 5), severe weather (n = 3), extreme heat (n = 2) increasing allergens (n = 1), water and food supply (n = 1), and across multiple CDC domains (n = 8). Participatory action research methodology was commonly used and strived to mobilize/empower communities to tackle climate change. Our review identified three randomized controlled trials, with two of these three published in the last five years. While original research on the impact of climate change on health has increased in the past decade, randomized control trials may not be ethical, cost effective, or feasible. There is a need for time-efficient and high-quality scholarship that investigates intervention efficacy and effectiveness for reducing health impacts of climate change upon rural populations.","PeriodicalId":72938,"journal":{"name":"Environmental research, health : ERH","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48652620","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
L. Edwards, P. Wilkinson, G. Rutter, Leslie Iverson, A. Milojevic
{"title":"Impact of mitigation measures to improve home indoor air quality in Kathmandu, Nepal","authors":"L. Edwards, P. Wilkinson, G. Rutter, Leslie Iverson, A. Milojevic","doi":"10.1088/2752-5309/acb663","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/2752-5309/acb663","url":null,"abstract":"Air purifiers (APs) and home sealing are interventions used to help protect U.S. diplomats against particle pollution in the home when working in polluted cities. We investigated the effect of these interventions on home indoor and personal PM2.5 exposure in Kathmandu, Nepal. Twenty-one participants underwent repeated 48 hour personal monitoring before and after intervention. We analyzed these measurements by microenvironment. Indoor-outdoor ratios (I/O) using the home indoor PM2.5 values were calculated in order to assess the air filtration capacity at home in light of increasing outdoor PM2.5 post-intervention. To quantify the effect of intervention on home indoor PM2.5, we conducted a meta-analysis of the results of dwelling-by-dwelling regression of indoor-on-outdoor (I/O) PM2.5 concentrations. On average, adding high-capacity APs and home sealing led to a 15% decrease in PM2.5 measured at home, excluding cooking periods, with a mean (standard deviation) of 7.5 (6.4) μg m−3 pre- to 6.4 (8.1) μg m−3 post-intervention despite a 57% increase in outdoor PM2.5, from 43.8 (30.8) μg m−3 pre- to 68.9 (40.7) μg m−3 post-intervention. Overall mean personal exposure fell by 36% from 15.2 (10.6) μg m−3 to 9.8 (8.7) μg m−3. I/O ratios decreased as outdoor PM2.5 strata increased; when outdoor PM2.5 < 25 μg m−3 the I/O decreased from 0.38 pre- to 0.12 post-intervention and when outdoor PM2.5 was 101–200 μg m−3 the I/O decreased from 0.12 pre- to 0.07 post-intervention. The mean regression slope of indoor-on-outdoor PM2.5 decreased from 0.13 (95% CI 0.09, 0.17) in pre-intervention dwellings to 0.07 (0.04, 0.10) post-intervention. I/O ratios showed a weak negative (not statistically significant) inverse association with air changes per hour at home. In the high pollution environment of Kathmandu, APs with home sealing provide substantial protection against ambient PM2.5 in the home environment, including during periods when outdoor PM2.5 concentration was above 100 μg m−3.","PeriodicalId":72938,"journal":{"name":"Environmental research, health : ERH","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43309359","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
K. Maciaszek, S. Gillies, S. Kawichai, T. Prapamontol, Teetawat Santijitpakdee, Wissanupong Kliengchuay, Narut Sahanavin, W. Mueller, S. Vardoulakis, Pawitrabhorn Samutrtai, J. Cherrie, David M. Brown, Kraichat Tantrakarnapa, H. Johnston
{"title":"In vitro assessment of the pulmonary toxicity of particulate matter emitted during haze events in Chiang Mai, Thailand via investigation of macrophage responses","authors":"K. Maciaszek, S. Gillies, S. Kawichai, T. Prapamontol, Teetawat Santijitpakdee, Wissanupong Kliengchuay, Narut Sahanavin, W. Mueller, S. Vardoulakis, Pawitrabhorn Samutrtai, J. Cherrie, David M. Brown, Kraichat Tantrakarnapa, H. Johnston","doi":"10.1088/2752-5309/ac9748","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/2752-5309/ac9748","url":null,"abstract":"Chiang Mai (Thailand) experiences severe haze pollution in the dry season (December–April) each year mainly due to local and regional biomass burning (e.g. of agricultural land). A major component of the haze is airborne particulate matter (PM). During haze events, biomass burning is likely to be the dominant source of PM emissions, and at other times emissions from traffic dominate. The hazard of traffic derived PM has been extensively investigated previously but there are uncertainties regarding the toxicity of PM emitted from biomass burning. The toxicity of PM10 samples collected during and after haze events in Chiang Mai in 2020 was compared in vitro in J774.1 macrophages as they are responsible for the clearance of inhaled particles. Diesel exhaust particles and ultrafine carbon black were included as benchmark particles as they have been commonly used as a surrogate for PM. Cytotoxicity was evaluated 24 h post exposure at concentrations of 3.9–125 µg ml−1. Cytokine production (tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β, macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP-2)) was assessed and cell morphology visualised using light and scanning electron microscopy. The hydrodynamic diameter, zeta potential and endotoxin content of all particles was assessed as well as the metal content of PM samples. All particles induced a concentration dependent decrease in cell viability and increased TNF-α and MIP-2 production. Only PM samples stimulated IL-6 production and only non-haze PM caused IL-1β production. No change in IL-10 production was detected for any particle. PM samples and DEP caused vacuole formation in cells. The concentrations of endotoxin and metals were highest in non-haze PM, which may explain why it induced the greatest inflammatory response. As non-haze PM was more toxic than haze PM, our results indicate that the source of PM emissions can influence its toxic potency and more specifically, that PM emitted from biomass burning may be less toxic than PM emitted from traffic.","PeriodicalId":72938,"journal":{"name":"Environmental research, health : ERH","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45418016","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M. Shepley, Rebecca L Ames, R. Leitão, Gloria Coleman
{"title":"Community-based participatory research on the impact of greenspace on violent crime","authors":"M. Shepley, Rebecca L Ames, R. Leitão, Gloria Coleman","doi":"10.1088/2752-5309/aca2d2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/2752-5309/aca2d2","url":null,"abstract":"Background. The positive impact of greenspace on human health has been well documented, including several literature reviews and meta-analyses that have examined the broad benefits of nature connections. Researchers have also examined the relationship between nature and crime reduction and identified potential mechanisms underlying this outcome, such as the physiological impact of nature, lowered temperatures due to a reduction in the heat island effect, and places for community interaction. However, a critical shortcoming of this study is the lack of deep community involvement in the research process. Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is critical to ensuring that the findings are meaningful to communities and translatable. This study expands on recent literature reviews on greenspace outcomes by focusing on community-engaged research (CER). By gathering and summarizing studies on this topic, we address two subjects: (a) strategies that can be used to improve community engagement, and (b) environmental factors that impact community outcomes in greenspace settings. Methods. To explore these issues, we used a modified version of Arksey and O’Malley’s framework for a structured literature review, employing the Web of Science, EbscoHost, Scopus, ProQuest Global, and Google Scholar databases. Results. We retrieved 772 publications using permutations of keywords related to violent crime, greenspaces, and CBPR. After eliminating duplicates, the reviewers worked in parallel to evaluate 700 titles and abstracts and identified 51 potentially relevant papers, ten of which met the requirements for inclusion in this analysis. Discussion. Based on the studies explored in this literature review, we identified the following strategies for improving CER: building partnerships, facilitating power-sharing, utilizing community-specific indicators of success, embracing perspectives of communities of color, and empowering community researchers. In the sample of studies described here, the factors contributing to the relationship between greenspace and violent crime were maintenance, activity programming, green interventions, and community involvement.","PeriodicalId":72938,"journal":{"name":"Environmental research, health : ERH","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46099766","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Introducing Environmental Research: Health—a new journal devoted to addressing important global challenges at the interface of the environment and public health","authors":"Morag Bell","doi":"10.1088/2752-5309/ac97b5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/2752-5309/ac97b5","url":null,"abstract":"Environmental Research: Health is a new open access, interdisciplinary journal devoted to addressing important global challenges at the interface of the environment and health in ways that bridge scientific progress and assessment with efforts relating to impact and future risks, resilience, mitigation, adaptation, security and solutions in the broadest sense. While progress has been made in many areas of environmental health, many problems remain and are in fact rising, with increasing threats from climate change and growing disparities in the health burdens of environmental conditions. Although many disciplinary and some broader journals exist, Environmental Research: Health functions at the intersection of science and solutions, which necessitates contributions from multiple disciplines, often working collaboratively, to provide science to better inform decisions from the local to global levels. The journal welcomes contributions from all research methodologies, including qualitative, quantitative, experimental, theoretical and applied approaches, including work on exposure assessment, implementation studies, policy analysis, and health assessment. Through open access, all science published in the journal will be made available free of charge to everyone. The inaugural Editorial Board spans experts from many fields including medicine, epidemiology, architecture, environmental engineering, statistics, and more. Environmental Research: Health aims to facilitate high caliber scientific evidence on how environmental conditions can harm or improve health to allow decision-makers from community groups to national and international leaders to make the best choices to improve health and the environment.","PeriodicalId":72938,"journal":{"name":"Environmental research, health : ERH","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48954735","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The nonlinear effects of air pollution on criminal behavior: evidence from Mexico City and New York","authors":"Luis Sarmiento","doi":"10.1088/2752-5309/ac9a65","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/2752-5309/ac9a65","url":null,"abstract":"This article proposes an inverted U-shape relationship between air pollution and criminal behavior. Exposure increases criminality by raising criminals’ taste for risk and violent behavior while also reducing it by changing the number of felons and crime opportunities in the market through exacerbated morbidity and avoidance behavior. I illustrate both mechanisms with an expected utility model of the decision to delict and a simplified search and matching frictions model between criminals and crime opportunities. Linear, quadratic, and nonparametric Poisson pseudo-maximum likelihood estimator panel models confirm this bell-shaped relationship for Mexico City and New York, suggesting that the linear association between pollution and criminality uncovered by late studies may be better estimated with nonlinear models.","PeriodicalId":72938,"journal":{"name":"Environmental research, health : ERH","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44935455","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Exposure to animal feeding operations including concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) and environmental justice in Iowa, USA","authors":"Jiyoun Son, M. Bell","doi":"10.1088/2752-5309/ac9329","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/2752-5309/ac9329","url":null,"abstract":"Health consequences of intensive livestock industry and implications for environmental justice are of great concern in Iowa, USA, which has an extensive history of animal feeding operations (AFOs). We examined disparities in exposure to AFOs including concentrated AFOs (CAFOs) with several environmental justice metrics and considered exposure intensity based on animal units (AUs). Using data on permitted AFOs from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, we evaluated environmental disparities by multiple environmental justice metrics (e.g. race/ethnicity, socio-economic status (SES), income inequality (Gini index), racial isolation, and educational isolation) using 2010 Census tract-level variables. We used an exposure metric incorporating the density and intensity as the sum of AUs within each Census tract. We investigated exposure disparities by comparing distributions of environmental justice metrics based on operation type (e.g. confinement, open feedlot, large CAFOs), animal type, and Census tract-level AFOs exposure intensity categories (i.e. from low exposure (quartile 1) to high exposure (quartile 4)). AFOs in Iowa were located in areas with lower percentages of racial/ethnic minority persons and high SES communities. For example, the percent of the population that is non-Hispanic Black was over 9 times higher in Census tracts without AFOs than tracts with AFOs (5.14% vs. 0.55%). However, when we considered AFO exposure intensity within the areas having AFO exposure, areas with higher AFO exposure had higher percentages of racial/ethnic minority persons (e.g. Hispanic) and low SES communities (e.g. higher educational isolation) compared to areas with lower AFO exposure. Findings by AFO type (e.g. large CAFO, medium CAFO) showed similar patterns of the distribution of environmental justice metrics as the findings for AFOs overall. We identified complex disparities with higher exposure to non-disadvantaged subpopulations when considering areas with versus without AFOs, but higher exposure to disadvantaged communities within areas with AFOs.","PeriodicalId":72938,"journal":{"name":"Environmental research, health : ERH","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47045539","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
A. Rau, A. Abadi, M. Fiecas, Yeong-Rip Gwon, Jesse E Bell, J. Berman
{"title":"Nationwide assessment of ambient monthly fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and the associations with total, cardiovascular and respiratory mortality in the United States","authors":"A. Rau, A. Abadi, M. Fiecas, Yeong-Rip Gwon, Jesse E Bell, J. Berman","doi":"10.1088/2752-5309/ac9b7e","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/2752-5309/ac9b7e","url":null,"abstract":"High air pollution events spanning multiple months and caused by environmental perturbations such as droughts and wildfires are increasing in frequency, intensity and duration due to climate change. While both daily and annual exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) have regulatory standards in the United States, mid-scale exposure at the monthly interval remains unregulated and the public health impacts of mid-duration ambient air pollution exposure are poorly understood. These present a new public health challenge in mitigating harmful effects of persistent ambient air pollution on community health. We executed an ecological study of the associations between monthly mean PM2.5 exposure with total, cardiovascular and respiratory mortality counts, stratified by age, sex and race, in 698 counties in the conterminous United States from 1999 to 2018. A two-stage model was used to estimate the risk and number of deaths associated with this exposure timescale reported as incidence rate ratios (IRRs) and absolute risk differences per million persons (ARDs). Increased mortality of all types was positively associated with a 10 μg m−3 monthly change in PM2.5 exposure (total mortality IRR: 1.011, 95% confidence interval (CI): (1.009, 1.013), ARD: 8.558, 95% CI: (6.869, 10.247); cardiovascular mortality IRR: 1.014, 95% CI: (1.011, 1.018), ARD: 3.716, 95% CI: (2.924, 4.509); respiratory mortality IRR: 1.016, 95% CI: (1.011, 1.023), ARD: 1.676, 95% CI: (1.261, 2.091)). Our results suggest elderly, non-black minorities and males to be the most impacted subgroups along with metropolitan and highly socially vulnerable communities. Heterogeneities in the magnitude and direction of association were also detected across climate regions of the United States. These results elucidate potential effects of monthly PM2.5 on mortality and demonstrate a need for future health policies for this currently unregulated interval of ambient air pollution exposure.","PeriodicalId":72938,"journal":{"name":"Environmental research, health : ERH","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45434656","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"What explains spatial variations of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy?: a social-ecological-technological systems approach","authors":"Arun Pallathadka, Heejun Chang, Daikwon Han","doi":"10.1088/2752-5309/ac8ac2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/2752-5309/ac8ac2","url":null,"abstract":"While COVID-19 vaccines have been available since December 2020 and efforts have been made to vaccinate the maximum population, a large number of people are continuing to be hesitant, prolonging the pandemic in the US. While most previous studies investigated social, economic, and demographic variables that are associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, we added ecological and technological variables to better understand the spatial variations of vaccine rates in the contiguous United States using spatial regression and geographically weighted regression (GWR) models. We aim to identify spatially varying social, ecological, and technological factors that are associated with COVID-19 vaccination rates, which can aid in identifying and strengthening the public health system and vaccination programs that can eventually facilitate and overcome vaccination hesitancy. We found six statistically significant predictors; two predictors, % Republican voters (r = 0.507, p < .001) and % Black population (r = −0.360, p < .001) were negatively correlated with the vaccination rates, whereas four remaining predictors, % Population with college degree (r = 0.229, p < 001), NRI Score (r = 0.131, p < .001), % Population with broadband access (r = 0.020, p < 001), and Health facilities per 10 000 population (r = 0.424, p < 001) were positively correlated with the vaccination rates at the county level. GWR results show spatially varying relationships between vaccination rate and explanatory variables, indicating the need for regional-specific public health policy. To achieve widespread vaccination, addressing social, ecological, and technological factors will be essential. We draw particular attention to the spatial variances even among positively and negatively associated factors. This research also calls for a reexamination of existing practices, including vaccination communication and other public health policies, local and national public health organizations, telecommunications agents, and mobilization of resources by the public and private sectors.","PeriodicalId":72938,"journal":{"name":"Environmental research, health : ERH","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-08-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44436750","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
K. O’Dell, B. Ford, J. Burkhardt, S. Magzamen, S. Anenberg, J. Bayham, E. Fischer, J. Pierce
{"title":"Outside in: the relationship between indoor and outdoor particulate air quality during wildfire smoke events in western US cities","authors":"K. O’Dell, B. Ford, J. Burkhardt, S. Magzamen, S. Anenberg, J. Bayham, E. Fischer, J. Pierce","doi":"10.1088/2752-5309/ac7d69","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/2752-5309/ac7d69","url":null,"abstract":"Previous research on the health and air quality impacts of wildfire smoke has largely focused on the impact of smoke on outdoor air quality; however, many people spend a majority of their time indoors. The quality of indoor air on smoke-impacted days is largely unknown. In this analysis, we use publicly available data from an existing large network of low-cost indoor and outdoor fine particulate matter (PM2.5) monitors to quantify the relationship between indoor and outdoor particulate air quality on smoke-impacted days in 2020 across the western United States (US). We also investigate possible regional and socioeconomic trends in this relationship for regions surrounding six major cities in the western US. We find indoor PM2.5 concentrations are 82% or 4.2 µg m−3 (median across all western US indoor monitors for the year 2020; interquartile range, IQR: 2.0–7.2 µg m−3) higher on smoke-impacted days compared to smoke-free days. Indoor/outdoor PM2.5 ratios show variability by region, particularly on smoke-free days. However, we find the ratio of indoor/outdoor PM2.5 is less than 1 (i.e. indoor concentrations lower than outdoor) at nearly all indoor-outdoor monitor pairs on smoke-impacted days. Although typically lower than outdoor concentrations on smoke-impacted days, we find that on heavily smoke-impacted days (outdoor PM2.5 > 55 µg m−3), indoor PM2.5 concentrations can exceed the 35 µg m−3 24 h outdoor standard set by the US Environmental Protection Agency. Further, total daily-mean indoor PM2.5 concentrations increase by 2.1 µg m−3 with every 10 µg m−3 increase in daily-mean outdoor PM2.5. (median of statistically significant linear regression slopes across all western US monitor pairs; IQR: 1.0–4.3 µg m−3) on smoke-impacted days. These results show that for indoor environments in the western US included in our analysis, remaining indoors during smoke events is currently an effective, but limited, strategy to reduce PM2.5 exposure.","PeriodicalId":72938,"journal":{"name":"Environmental research, health : ERH","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43909130","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}