1.
Measuring
the
Public
Health
Impacts
of
Air
Pollu8on
in
Minnesota
Barbara
P.
Yawn,
MD
MSc
Director
of
Research
Olmsted
Medical
Center
Rochester,
MN
byawn@olmmed.org

2. Air
pollu)on
affects
en)re
popula)ons
¥ Suscep)ble
popula)on
is
growing
2004
¥ Aging
popula)on
¥ Increasing
obesity,
diabetes
rates
¥ Effects
observed
in
children
¥ Lung
development
2009
¥ Asthma
exacerba)ons
¥ Even
very
small
increases
associated
with
disease
and
death
Obesity
in
MN

3. PM2.5
pyramid
of
health
effects
Death
Hospital
admissions
Emergency
room
visits
Doctor
visits
Asthma
aOacks,
medica8on
use,
symptoms
Lung
func8on
changes,
immune
cell
responses,
heart
rate
variability
responses

4. Fine
par)cle
pollu)on:
PM2.5

5. Air
pollu)on
epidemiology
studies
¥ Health
impacts
are
measurable
¥ Large
body
of
evidence
–
PM2.5
¥ Respiratory
and
cardiovascular
effects
¥ Long-­‐term
effects
à
increased
risk
¥ Short-­‐term
effects
à
triggering/exacerba)ons
¥ Effects
observed
even
at
low
concentra)ons

6. AQI:
Number
of
unhealthy
air
days
in
MN
Source:
MN
Pollu)on
Control
Agency

7. Improving
air,
preven)ng
deaths
¥ Air
quality
MN
(2006)
improvement
scenarios
5
¥ Es)mated
number
of
prevented
deaths
¥ 10%
reduc)on
PM2.5
78
concentra)ons
(MSP
metro)
¥ BenMAP
soUware
4
Source:
CDC
Environmental
Public
Health
Tracking

8. Air
pollu)on
and
health
research
in
MN
¥ Purpose:
method/indicator
development
¥ Local
area
analyses
¥ Using
local
sources
of
data
¥ Track
health
effects
associated
with
changes
in
air
quality
in
MSP
and
Olmsted
during
2003-­‐2009
¥ Fine
par)culate
maaer
pollu)on
(PM2.5)
¥ Hospitaliza)ons
and
mortality
¥ Respiratory
,
cardiovascular

9. MN
air
pollu)on
reduc)on
ini)a)ves
¥ Minnesota
Emissions
Reduc)on
Project
(MERP)
¥ Diesel
retrofits
¥ School
buses;
heavy
duty
public
vehicles
¥ Project
Green
Fleet
¥ Other
local
ini)a)ves
¥ An)-­‐idling
ordinances
¥ Go
Greener
Ini)a)ve
(Met
Council)
¥ Na)onal
ini)a)ves
¥ Ultra
Low
Sulfur
Diesel
Fuel
Rule
¥ Heavy
Duty
Diesel
Regula)ons
¥ Transport
Rule

10. Measuring
impacts
using
local
area
data
Reduc8ons
in
Reduc8ons
in
Regulatory
Popula8on
Adverse
or
Policy
Exposures
Health
Changes
Outcomes
• PM2.5
• Respiratory
diseases
• Cardiovascular
disease
• Hospitaliza)ons
and
Deaths

11. Source:
MN
Pollu)on
Control
Agency

12. MN
air
pollu)on
health
impacts
over
)me
Amount
aOributable
to
PM2.5
Hospitaliza8ons
Time
period
Percent
#
hosp./yr
Total
respiratory
2003-­‐2005
3.0%
354
2006-­‐2007
2.6%
309
2008-­‐2009
-­‐-­‐
-­‐-­‐
COPD
+
asthma
2003-­‐2005
3.3%
154
2006-­‐2007
2.9%
140
2008-­‐2009
-­‐-­‐
-­‐-­‐
Asthma
2003-­‐2005
3.8%
92
2006-­‐2007
-­‐-­‐
-­‐-­‐
2008-­‐2009
-­‐-­‐
-­‐-­‐

13. PM2.5
pyramid
of
health
effects
Death
Hospital
admissions
Doctor
visits
Asthma
aaacks,
medica)on
use,
symptoms
Lung
func)on
changes,
immune
cell
responses,
heart
rate
or
variability
responses

14. Air
pollu)on
and
health
research
in
MN
Traffic
and
Asthma
in
Olmsted
County
¥ High
traffic
areas
associated
with
increased
asthma
exacerba)ons
in
Olmsted
County
¥ Associa)on
remained
aUer
adjus)ng
for
poverty

15. Summary
¥ Air
pollu)on
affects
health
even
at
low
levels
¥ Air
pollu)on
affects
en)re
popula)ons
¥ Impact
on
a
growing
number
of
suscep)ble
people
¥ All
regions
of
MN
experience
poor
air
quality
BUT…
MN
has
been
making
improvements
in
air
quality
¥
Con)nued
efforts
will
lead
to
a
healthier
MN
¥

16. Project
Team
MN
Dept.
of
Health
MN
Pollu8on
Control
Agency
Olmsted
Medical
Center
Jean
Johnson
Greg
PraO
Barbara
Yawn
Chuck
Stroebel
Kari
Palmer
Peter
Wollan
Allan
Williams
Margaret
McCourtney
Naomi
Shinoda
Cassie
McMahon
Wendy
Brunner
Lisa
Herschberger
Paula
Lindgren
Measuring
the
Impact
of
Fine
Par)cles:
hap://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/hpcd/cdee/airquality.html