title: Fine-Scale Exposure to Allergenic Pollen in the Urban Environment: Evaluation of Land Use Regression Approach.
abstract: Despite the recent developments in physically and chemically based analysis of atmospheric particles, no models exist for resolving the spatial variability of pollen concentration at urban scale.
  
  
  
  We developed a land use regression (LUR) approach for predicting spatial fine-scale allergenic pollen concentrations in the Helsinki metropolitan area, Finland, and evaluated the performance of the models against available empirical data.
  
  
  
  We used grass pollen data monitored at 16 sites in an urban area during the peak pollen season and geospatial environmental data. The main statistical method was generalized linear model (GLM).
  
  
  
  GLM-based LURs explained 79% of the spatial variation in the grass pollen data based on all samples, and 47% of the variation when samples from two sites with very high concentrations were excluded. In model evaluation, prediction errors ranged from 6% to 26% of the observed range of grass pollen concentrations. Our findings support the use of geospatial data-based statistical models to predict the spatial variation of allergenic grass pollen concentrations at intra-urban scales. A remote sensing-based vegetation index was the strongest predictor of pollen concentrations for exposure assessments at local scales.
  
  
  
  The LUR approach provides new opportunities to estimate the relations between environmental determinants and allergenic pollen concentration in human-modified environments at fine spatial scales. This approach could potentially be applied to estimate retrospectively pollen concentrations to be used for long-term exposure assessments.
  
  
  
  Hjort J, Hugg TT, Antikainen H, Rusanen J, Sofiev M, Kukkonen J, Jaakkola MS, Jaakkola JJ. 2016. Fine-scale exposure to allergenic pollen in the urban environment: evaluation of land use regression approach. Environ Health Perspect 124:619-626; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1509761.
authors.affiliation: Geography Research Unit, and University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hjort
authors.forename: Timo T
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Hugg
authors.forename: Harri
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Antikainen
authors.forename: Jarmo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rusanen
authors.forename: Mikhail
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sofiev
authors.forename: Jaakko
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kukkonen
authors.forename: Maritta S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Jaakkola
authors.forename: Jouni J K
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Jaakkola
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000485:Allergens / Q000032:analysis*; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005387:Finland; D015233:Models, Statistical; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000032:analysis; D011058:Pollen; D012621:Seasons
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D000485:Allergens; D052638:Particulate Matter