NC State Statistician to Look at Effect of Air Pollution on Asthma, Heart Disease in Humans

Scientists have long known that air pollution can have adverse effects on human health. Now, thanks to research from a North Carolina State University statistician, we may soon have more accurate information about how, exactly, particulate matter in polluted air affects rates of asthma and heart disease in people.

Dr. Montserrat Fuentes, NC State associate professor of statistics, has received grants from both the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to determine the connection between air pollution, asthma and cardiovascular disease.

The EPA grant provides Fuentes and co-researchers Dr. Chris Frey, professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering, and Dr. Yang Zhang, assistant professor of marine, earth and atmospheric sciences, with $839,439 over three years to look at particulate matter in the atmosphere – tiny particles of pollutants that human beings inhale – to determine whether daily exposure increases mortality rates, locations where human beings are in the most danger from exposure, and what the most dangerous rates of exposure may be.

The NIH grant provides Fuentes and Frey $1,086,133 over a three-year period to study the impact of ozone and particulate matter in the atmosphere on cardiovascular disease and asthma.

“We know that atmospheric pollutants are harmful to human health,” Fuentes says, “and more precise information about the connection between particular pollutants and specific diseases will help us set air-quality standards to decrease human exposure and improve the health of people and the environment.”

– peake –