title: Estimation of outdoor NO(x), NO(2), and BTEX exposure in a cohort of pregnant women using land use regression modeling.
abstract: Land use regression (LUR) has been successfully used to assess the intraurban variability of air pollution. In the INMA (Environment and Childhood) Study, ambient nitrogen oxides (NO(x) and NO(2)) and aromatic hydrocarbons (BTEX) were measured at 57 sampling sites in Sabadell (northeast Spain). Multiple regression models were developed to predict residential outdoor concentrations in a cohortof pregnantwomen (n = 657), using geographic data as predictor variables. The models accounted for 68 and 69% of the variance in NO(x) and NO(2) levels, respectively, with four predictor variables (altitude, land coverage, and two road length indicators). These percentages of explained variability could be further improved by replacing the two road length indicators with an ordinal indicator (road type). To our knowledge, this is the first study using LUR to assess the intraurban variability of BTEX in Europe, with a model including altitude and source-proximity variables that explained 74% of the variance in BTEX levels. These models will be used to study the association between prenatal exposure to air pollution and adverse pregnancy outcomes and early childhhod effects in the cohort.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology, Institut Municipal Investigació Mèdica, Doctor Aiguader 88, 08003 Barcelona, Spain. iaguilera@imim.es
authors.forename: Inmaculada
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Aguilera
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sunyer
authors.forename: Rosalía
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fernández-Patier
authors.forename: Gerard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hoek
authors.forename: Amelia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aguirre-Alfaro
authors.forename: Kees
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Meliefste
authors.forename: M Teresa
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Bomboi-Mingarro
authors.forename: Mark J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Nieuwenhuijsen
authors.forename: Dolores
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Herce-Garraleta
authors.forename: Bert
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Brunekreef
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005260:Female; D005843:Geography; D006801:Humans; D006841:Hydrocarbons, Aromatic / Q000032:analysis*; D018811:Maternal Exposure; D009585:Nitrogen Dioxide / Q000032:analysis*; D011247:Pregnancy; D012044:Regression Analysis; D013030:Spain
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D006841:Hydrocarbons, Aromatic; D009585:Nitrogen Dioxide