A study funded by the European Union's FP7 Environment programme using existing data to give scientists and policy makers a clearer picture of the health impacts of air pollution.

Knowledge of the long-term health effects of air pollution on European citizens is significantly increased thanks to the efforts of the ESCAPE project. Project partners measure airborne particulates and nitrogen oxides in selected European regions. The chemical composition of sampled particulates is also analysed. ESCAPE researchers use information from over 30 European cohort studies, assessing air pollution exposure assessment at country, city and right down to the individual home address level.

Scientists develop techniques for assessing long-term population exposure to air pollution and apply these to four categories of the existing cohort studies. The initial category concerns the adverse effect of air pollution on pregnancy and the development of diseases such as asthma in children. The second group investigates the relationship between long term exposure to air pollution and the prevalence of respiratory diseases like bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and adult asthma.

The third category provides data about the effects of long-term exposure to air pollution inducing inflammation and atherosclerosis and the risk of acute coronary artery disease events and the development of preventative strategies. The final category investigates the impact of air pollution on the incidence of cancer and mortality. Project partners also created a database for determining the health effects of long-term air pollution on the European population.

ESCAPE actively communicates with stakeholder organisations and policy makers to facilitate development of new policies and their implementation. The ultimate benefactors are European citizens through improved health and environment.

Project Partners:

(Source: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/211250 -NOTE: with revised links)

IMPERIAL COLLEGE OF SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY AND MEDICINE, United Kingdom https://www.imperial.ac.uk/

UNIVERSITAT BASE, Switzerland https://www.unibas.ch/de

FUNDACIO CENTRE DE RECERCA EN EPIDEMIOLOGIA AMBIENTAL – CREAL, Spain https://www.isglobal.org/

HELMHOLTZ ZENTRUM MUENCHEN DEUTSCHES FORSCHUNGSZENTRUM FUER GESUNDHEIT UND UMWELT GMBH, Germany https://www.helmholtz-munich.de/helmholtz-zentrum-muenchen/index.html

KAROLINSKA INSTITUTET, Sweden https://ki.se/

AZIENDA SANITARIA LOCALE ROMA, Italy https://www.aslroma1.it/

DANISH CANCER SOCIETY - KRAEFTENS BEKAEMPELSE, Denmark https://www.cancer.dk/

INSTITUT NATIONAL DE LA SANTE ET DE LA RECHERCHE MEDICALE -INSERM, France https://www.inserm.fr/

RIJKSINSTITUUT VOOR VOLKSGEZONDHEID EN MILIEU - RIVM, Netherlands https://www.rivm.nl/

NORWEGIAN INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC HEALTH - FOLKEHELSEINSTITUTTET, Norway https://www.fhi.no/en/

TERVEYDEN JA HYVINVOINNIN LAITOS, Finland https://thl.fi/en/web/thlfi-en

INSTITUT DE VEILLE SANITAIRE, France (NO LINK FOUND)

UNIVERSITY OF CRETE, Greece https://www.uoc.gr/

NATIONAL AND KAPODISTRIAN UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS, Greece https://www.uoa.gr/

THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER, United Kingdom https://www.manchester.ac.uk/

UMEA UNIVERSITET, Sweden https://www.umu.se/

UNIVERSITAET DUISBURG-ESSEN, Germany https://www.uni-due.de/

IUF - LEIBNIZ-INSTITUT FUR UMWELTMEDIZINISCHE FORSCHUNG GMBH, Germany https://iuf-duesseldorf.de/

VYTAUTO DIDZIOJO UNIVERSITETAS, Lithuania https://www.vdu.lt/lt/

NEMZETI NEPEGESZSEGUGYI KOZPONT – NATIONAL INSITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH, Hungary https://www.nnk.gov.hu/

UNIVERSITAET ULM, Germany https://www.uni-ulm.de/

HELLENIC HEALTH FOUNDATION, Greece https://www.hhf-greece.gr/

MEDICAL RESEARCH COUNCIL, United Kingdom https://www.ukri.org/councils/mrc/

INSTITUTE OF OCCUPATIONAL MEDICINE, United Kingdom https://www.iom-world.org/

NATIONAL TAIWAN UNIVERSITY, Taiwan https://www.ntu.edu.tw/english/index.html

Funding:

European Commission CORDIS FP7-ENVIRONMENT. Grant agreement ID: 211250