title: Exposure measurement error in PM2.5 health effects studies: a pooled analysis of eight personal exposure validation studies.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Exposure measurement error is a concern in long-term PM2.5 health studies using ambient concentrations as exposures. We assessed error magnitude by estimating calibration coefficients as the association between personal PM2.5 exposures from validation studies and typically available surrogate exposures.
  
  
  METHODS
  Daily personal and ambient PM2.5, and when available sulfate, measurements were compiled from nine cities, over 2 to 12 days. True exposure was defined as personal exposure to PM2.5 of ambient origin. Since PM2.5 of ambient origin could only be determined for five cities, personal exposure to total PM2.5 was also considered. Surrogate exposures were estimated as ambient PM2.5 at the nearest monitor or predicted outside subjects' homes. We estimated calibration coefficients by regressing true on surrogate exposures in random effects models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  When monthly-averaged personal PM2.5 of ambient origin was used as the true exposure, calibration coefficients equaled 0.31 (95% CI:0.14, 0.47) for nearest monitor and 0.54 (95% CI:0.42, 0.65) for outdoor home predictions. Between-city heterogeneity was not found for outdoor home PM2.5 for either true exposure. Heterogeneity was significant for nearest monitor PM2.5, for both true exposures, but not after adjusting for city-average motor vehicle number for total personal PM2.5.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Calibration coefficients were <1, consistent with previously reported chronic health risks using nearest monitor exposures being under-estimated when ambient concentrations are the exposure of interest. Calibration coefficients were closer to 1 for outdoor home predictions, likely reflecting less spatial error. Further research is needed to determine how our findings can be incorporated in future health studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. marianthi.anna@mail.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Marianthi-Anna
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Kioumourtzoglou
authors.forename: Donna
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Spiegelman
authors.forename: Adam A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Szpiro
authors.forename: Lianne
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sheppard
authors.forename: Joel D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Kaufman
authors.forename: Jeff D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Yanosky
authors.forename: Ronald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Francine
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Laden
authors.forename: Biling
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Suh
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D002138:Calibration; D002947:Cities; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D010316:Particle Size; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000032:analysis*; D012107:Research Design; D013431:Sulfates / Q000032:analysis; D035501:Uncertainty; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D052638:Particulate Matter; D013431:Sulfates