The impact of particulate matter on allergy risk among adults: integrated exposure assessment.

Exposure assessment is an important part in environmental epidemiology for determining the associations of environmental factors with health effects. One of the greatest challenges for personal exposure assessment is associated with peoples' mobility during the day and spatial and temporal dynamics of air pollution. In this study, the impact of PM (particulate matter less than 10 μm) on allergy risk among adults was assessed using objective methods of exposure assessment. The primary objective of the present study was to estimate personal exposure to PM based on individual daily movement patterns. Significant differences between the concentration of PM in different microenvironments (MEs) and personal exposure to PM were determined. Home exposure accounted for the largest part of PM exposure. Thirty-five percent of PM exposure was received in other non-home MEs. Allergy risk increased significantly with increasing exposure to PM. Adults exposed to the highest levels of PM exposure had a twice-higher risk of allergies than adults exposed to the lowest levels of PM exposure. The study results have practical relevance for exposure assessment to environmental factors and its impact on health effects.