title: A community participatory study of cardiovascular health and exposure to near-highway air pollution: study design and methods.
abstract: Current literature is insufficient to make causal inferences or establish dose-response relationships for traffic-related ultrafine particles (UFPs) and cardiovascular (CV) health. The Community Assessment of Freeway Exposure and Health (CAFEH) is a cross-sectional study of the relationship between UFP and biomarkers of CV risk. CAFEH uses a community-based participatory research framework that partners university researchers with community groups and residents. Our central hypothesis is that chronic exposure to UFP is associated with changes in biomarkers. The study enrolled more than 700 residents from three near-highway neighborhoods in the Boston metropolitan area in Massachusetts, USA. All participants completed an in-home questionnaire and a subset (440+) completed an additional supplemental questionnaire and provided biomarkers. Air pollution monitoring was conducted by a mobile laboratory equipped with fast-response instruments, at fixed sites, and inside the homes of selected study participants. We seek to develop improved estimates of UFP exposure by combining spatiotemporal models of ambient UFP with data on participant time-activity and housing characteristics. Exposure estimates will then be compared with biomarker levels to ascertain associations. This article describes our study design and methods and presents preliminary findings from east Somerville, one of the three study communities.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Public Health, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30302-3995, USA. cfuller@gsu.edu
authors.forename: Christina H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Fuller
authors.forename: Allison P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Patton
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lane
authors.forename: M Barton
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Laws
authors.forename: Aaron
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Marden
authors.forename: Edna
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Carrasco
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Spengler
authors.forename: Mkaya
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mwamburi
authors.forename: Wig
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zamore
authors.forename: John L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Durant
authors.forename: Doug
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Brugge
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D001900:Boston; D002319:Cardiovascular System / Q000187:drug effects*; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D014186:Transportation
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D015415:Biomarkers