Air pollution is an important public health problem in Europe and there is evidence that it exacerbates health inequities. This calls for effective strategies and targeted interventions. In this study, we conducted a systematic review to evaluate the effectiveness of strategies relating to air pollution control on public health and health equity in Europe. Three databases, Web of Science, PubMed, and Trials Register of Promoting Health Interventions (TRoPHI), were searched for scientific publications investigating the effectiveness of strategies on outdoor air pollution control, public health and health equity in Europe from 1995 to 2015. A total of 15 scientific papers were included in the review after screening 1626 articles. Four groups of strategy types, namely, general regulations on air quality control, road traffic related emission control interventions, energy generation related emission control interventions and greenhouse gas emission control interventions for climate change mitigation were identified. All of the strategies reviewed reported some improvement in air quality and subsequently in public health. The reduction of the air pollutant concentrations and the reported subsequent health benefits were more significant within the geographic areas affected by traffic related interventions. Among the various traffic related interventions, low emission zones appeared to be more effective in reducing ambient nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and particulate matter levels. Only few studies considered implications for health equity, three out of 15, and no consistent results were found indicating that these strategies could reduce health inequity associated with air pollution. Particulate matter (particularly fine particulate matter) and NO₂ were the dominant outdoor air pollutants examined in the studies in Europe in recent years. Health benefits were gained either as a direct, intended objective or as a co-benefit from all of the strategies examined, but no consistent impact on health equity from the strategies was found. The strategy types aiming to control air pollution in Europe and the health impact assessment methodology were also discussed in this review.

In order to explore the temporal-spatial patterns and possible health effects of ozone in Shenzhen, daily concentrations of ozone and the daily mortality caused by cardiovascular and respiratory diseases were collected. Using Geographic Information System (GIS) and SPSS, the spatial and temporal patterns of ozone in Shenzhen were illustrated. Using a generalized additive model (GAM), the associations between ozone and cardiovascular and respiratory diseases causing mortality were analyzed, adjusted for meteorological factors and other major air pollutants including fine particulate matter (PM_2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and carbon monoxide (CO), and stratified by lag, age, and gender. The results showed that, during 2013, ozone was the second main air pollutant in Shenzhen apart from PM_2.5, with average daily concentrations of 95.9 µg/m³ and 76.8 µg/m³ for the ozone 1-h mean and the daily ozone 8-h maximum concentration, respectively. The daily level of ozone had a higher concentration from September to October, and relatively low concentration from May to June. Obviously, a higher concentration was found in central parts of Shenzhen with the largest population, indicating higher risks. The excess risk (ER) percentage of the cardio-respiratory mortality rate showed a clearly accumulative effect at L03, with the highest ER percentage of 1.08 (0.88–1.27) per 10 µg/m³ increase in the ozone 8-h maximum concentration for all the population. Males were found to be more sensitive to ozone compared with females, and the elderly were more susceptible to ozone exposure than younger people.

Background: The aims of this study are to estimate the disease burden of allergic rhinitis (AR) patients and examine various underlying issues related to the symptoms and services of adult AR patients. Methods: Beijing hospital was picked as the surveillance area, and self-report questionnaires from the AR patients and data from medical examinations by specialists of otolaryngology were collected. The burden of patients with AR was evaluated by the combined results from patient-questionnaires and specialist examination reports. Results: AR imposed a substantial burden on patients regarding everyday life limitations and work performance; AR affected patients’ noses, ears, throats, and eyes in various ways. The basic daily average medicine cost was 10 RMB for each patient, and the cost for an outpatient in the hospital was 10 RMB for a basic nasal examination and more than 200 RMB if the patient needed further physical examinations. Conclusions: AR imposed burdens on everyday activities and work performance; the patients needed to wait a long time before being diagnosed, and the costs of diagnosis and treatment imposed economic burden on patients.