Estimated public health benefits of a low-emission zone in Malmö, Sweden
Flanagan, Erin LU
; Malmqvist, Ebba
LU
; Gustafsson, Susanna
and Oudin, Anna
LU
(2022)
In Environmental Research
214(4).
p.1-9
- Abstract
- Air pollution is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Low-emission zones (LEZ) have been increasingly implemented in cities throughout Europe as a measure to reduce the adverse health effects and premature deaths associated with traffic-related air pollution. In the present study, a health impact analysis was conducted to estimate the effect of a hypothetical LEZ on mortality and morbidity in Malmö, Sweden. Baseline health statistics were gathered from health registers and applied to each resident according to individual-level data on age and/or sex. Concentration-response parameters were derived from current epidemiological literature, specifically meta-analyses. A Gaussian dispersion model (AERMOD) combined... (More)
- Air pollution is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Low-emission zones (LEZ) have been increasingly implemented in cities throughout Europe as a measure to reduce the adverse health effects and premature deaths associated with traffic-related air pollution. In the present study, a health impact analysis was conducted to estimate the effect of a hypothetical LEZ on mortality and morbidity in Malmö, Sweden. Baseline health statistics were gathered from health registers and applied to each resident according to individual-level data on age and/or sex. Concentration-response parameters were derived from current epidemiological literature, specifically meta-analyses. A Gaussian dispersion model (AERMOD) combined with a detailed emission database was used to calculate NO2 emissions from traffic, which could be applied on an individual-level using data on each person's residential coordinates. The adjusted exposure scenario replaced all vehicles on municipal roads having Euro 5 or lower emission standards with Euro 6 equivalents. This LEZ would, on average, decrease NO2 concentrations by 13.4%, preventing an estimated 9–26 deaths in Malmö each year. Additionally, 12 respiratory disease hospitalizations, 8 childhood asthma cases, and 9 cases of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy were estimated to be avoided annually. These results suggest that LEZs can effectively improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and safeguard public health. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/15e8955f-84e8-4b79-aaa0-bb7255003d31
- author
- Flanagan, Erin
LU
; Malmqvist, Ebba
LU
; Gustafsson, Susanna
and Oudin, Anna
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2022-11-01
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- in
- Environmental Research
- volume
- 214
- issue
- 4
- article number
- 114124
- pages
- 1 - 9
- publisher
- Elsevier
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:35998694
- scopus:85137031004
- ISSN
- 1096-0953
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.envres.2022.114124
- project
- Andas frisk luft och höra fågelsång i en tät stad - hur kommer vi dit?
- How is our health affected by particles from wood burning?
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 15e8955f-84e8-4b79-aaa0-bb7255003d31
- date added to LUP
- 2022-09-21 15:34:31
- date last changed
- 2023-04-05 21:51:46
@article{15e8955f-84e8-4b79-aaa0-bb7255003d31,
abstract = {{Air pollution is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Low-emission zones (LEZ) have been increasingly implemented in cities throughout Europe as a measure to reduce the adverse health effects and premature deaths associated with traffic-related air pollution. In the present study, a health impact analysis was conducted to estimate the effect of a hypothetical LEZ on mortality and morbidity in Malmö, Sweden. Baseline health statistics were gathered from health registers and applied to each resident according to individual-level data on age and/or sex. Concentration-response parameters were derived from current epidemiological literature, specifically meta-analyses. A Gaussian dispersion model (AERMOD) combined with a detailed emission database was used to calculate NO2 emissions from traffic, which could be applied on an individual-level using data on each person's residential coordinates. The adjusted exposure scenario replaced all vehicles on municipal roads having Euro 5 or lower emission standards with Euro 6 equivalents. This LEZ would, on average, decrease NO2 concentrations by 13.4%, preventing an estimated 9–26 deaths in Malmö each year. Additionally, 12 respiratory disease hospitalizations, 8 childhood asthma cases, and 9 cases of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy were estimated to be avoided annually. These results suggest that LEZs can effectively improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and safeguard public health.}},
author = {{Flanagan, Erin and Malmqvist, Ebba and Gustafsson, Susanna and Oudin, Anna}},
issn = {{1096-0953}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{11}},
number = {{4}},
pages = {{1--9}},
publisher = {{Elsevier}},
series = {{Environmental Research}},
title = {{Estimated public health benefits of a low-emission zone in Malmö, Sweden}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2022.114124}},
doi = {{10.1016/j.envres.2022.114124}},
volume = {{214}},
year = {{2022}},
}