title: Effectiveness of traffic-related elements in tree bark and pollen abortion rates for assessing air pollution exposure on respiratory mortality rates.
abstract: The majority of epidemiological studies correlate the cardiorespiratory effects of air pollution exposure by considering the concentrations of pollutants measured from conventional monitoring networks. The conventional air quality monitoring methods are expensive, and their data are insufficient for providing good spatial resolution. We hypothesized that bioassays using plants could effectively determine pollutant gradients, thus helping to assess the risks associated with air pollution exposure. The study regions were determined from different prevalent respiratory death distributions in the Sao Paulo municipality. Samples of tree flower buds were collected from twelve sites in four regional districts. The genotoxic effects caused by air pollution were tested through a pollen abortion bioassay. Elements derived from vehicular traffic that accumulated in tree barks were determined using energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (EDXRF). Mortality data were collected from the mortality information program of Sao Paulo City. Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to the concentrations of elements accumulated in tree barks. Pearson correlation and exponential regression were performed considering the elements, pollen abortion rates and mortality data. PCA identified five factors, of which four represented elements related to vehicular traffic. The elements Al, S, Fe, Mn, Cu, and Zn showed a strong correlation with mortality rates (R2>0.87) and pollen abortion rates (R2>0.82). These results demonstrate that tree barks and pollen abortion rates allow for correlations between vehicular traffic emissions and associated outcomes such as genotoxic effects and mortality data.
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine at Sao Paulo University (FMUSP), Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil; National Institute for Integrated Analysis of Environmental Risk (INAIRA), Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil. Electronic address: regiani@usp.br.
authors.forename: Regiani
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Carvalho-Oliveira
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine at Sao Paulo University (FMUSP), Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil; National Institute for Integrated Analysis of Environmental Risk (INAIRA), Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luís F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Amato-Lourenço
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine at Sao Paulo University (FMUSP), Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil; National Institute for Integrated Analysis of Environmental Risk (INAIRA), Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Tiana C L
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Moreira
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine at Sao Paulo University (FMUSP), Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil; National Institute for Integrated Analysis of Environmental Risk (INAIRA), Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Douglas R Rocha
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine at Sao Paulo University (FMUSP), Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil; National Institute for Integrated Analysis of Environmental Risk (INAIRA), Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Bruna D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Vieira
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine at Sao Paulo University (FMUSP), Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil; National Institute for Integrated Analysis of Environmental Risk (INAIRA), Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Thais
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mauad
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Integrated Analysis of Environmental Risk (INAIRA), Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil; Nuclear and Energy Research Institute (IPEN-CNEN/SP), Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Mitiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saiki
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine at Sao Paulo University (FMUSP), Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil; National Institute for Integrated Analysis of Environmental Risk (INAIRA), Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Paulo H Nascimento
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Saldiva
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000401:mortality*; D008875:Middle Aged; D024301:Plant Bark / Q000737:chemistry*; D011058:Pollen / Q000737:chemistry*; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000401:mortality*; D001335:Vehicle Emissions / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D001335:Vehicle Emissions
keywords: Air pollution; Bioaccumulation and traffic related elements; Mortality; Pollen abortion assay; Tree barks