Background

Experimental studies suggest ultrafine particles (UFPs), the smallest size fraction of particulate matter, may be more toxic than larger particles, however personal sampling studies in children are lacking.

Objective

The objective of this analysis was to examine individual, housing, and neighborhood characteristics associated with personal UFP concentrations as well as the differences in exposures that occur within varying microenvironments.

Methods

We measured weekly personal UFP concentrations and GPS coordinates in 117 adolescents ages 13–17 to describe exposures across multiple microenvironments. Individual, home, and neighborhood characteristics were collected by caregiver completed questionnaires.

Results

Participants regularly exposed to secondhand tobacco smoke had significantly higher indoor concentrations of UFPs compared to participants who were not. We observed that the ‘home’ microenvironment dominated the relative contribution of overall UFP concentrations and sampling time, however, relative proportion of integrated UFP exposure were higher in ‘other’ environments.

Impact Statement

In this study, we employed a novel panel study design, involving real-time measurement of UFP exposure within the multiple microenvironments of adolescents. We found a combination of personal sampling and detailed activity patterns should be used in future studies to accurately describe exposure-behavior relationships.

中文翻译：

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青少年在多种微环境中个人接触超细颗粒的情况

背景

实验研究表明，超细颗粒（UFP）是颗粒物中最小尺寸的颗粒，可能比较大颗粒的毒性更大，但缺乏针对儿童的个人抽样研究。

客观的

该分析的目的是检查与个人 UFP 浓度相关的个人、住房和社区特征以及不同微环境中发生的暴露差异。

方法

我们每周测量 117 名 13-17 岁青少年的个人 UFP 浓度和 GPS 坐标，以描述多个微环境中的暴露情况。通过护理人员填写的问卷收集个人、家庭和社区特征。

结果

与不接触二手烟草烟雾的参与者相比，经常接触二手烟草烟雾的参与者室内 UFP 浓度显着更高。我们观察到，“家庭”微环境主导了总体 UFP 浓度和采样时间的相对贡献，然而，“其他”环境中综合 UFP 暴露的相对比例较高。

影响报告

在这项研究中，我们采用了一种新颖的小组研究设计，包括实时测量青少年多个微环境中的 UFP 暴露情况。我们发现，在未来的研究中应该结合个人抽样和详细的活动模式来准确描述暴露与行为的关系。