title: Urban air pollution, poverty, violence and health--Neurological and immunological aspects as mediating factors.
abstract: Rapid rural-urban migration has created overcrowded areas characterized by concentrated poverty and increases in indoor and outdoor air pollutants. These "hotspots" constitute an increased risk of violence and disease outbreaks. We hypothesize that the effects of poverty and associated air pollution-related stress on impaired cognitive skills are mediated by inflammatory cytokines. A research framework is proposed, encompassing (i) an epidemiological investigation of associations between poverty, high concentrations of air pollutants, violence and health, (ii) a longitudinal follow-up of working memory capacities and inflammatory markers, and (iii) intervention programs aiming to strengthen employability and decreased exposures to toxic air pollutants.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Social and Forensic Psychiatry, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden; Department of Forensic Psychiatry in Stockholm, National Board of Forensic Medicine, Sweden. Electronic address: marianne.kristiansson@rmv.se.
authors.forename: Marianne
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kristiansson
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Social and Forensic Psychiatry, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden; Department of Forensic Psychiatry in Stockholm, National Board of Forensic Medicine, Sweden.
authors.forename: Karolina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sörman
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tekwe
authors.affiliation: The Center for Structural and Functional Neurosciences, The University of Montana, Missoula, MT, USA.
authors.forename: Lilian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Calderón-Garcidueñas
mesh_terms: D000397:Air Pollution; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007107:Immune System / Q000187:drug effects*; D009424:Nervous System Physiological Phenomena; D011203:Poverty; D014754:Violence
keywords: Air pollution; Cognition; Health; Neuroinflammation; Poverty; Systemic inflammation; Violence