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Assessing Capabilities of Conducted Ambient Air Pollution Health Effects Studies in 22 Eastern Mediterranean Countries to Adopt Air Quality Standards: A Review Publisher



Mokammel A1, 2 ; Malkawi M3 ; Momeniha F4 ; Safi HAM5 ; Niazi S5 ; Yousefian F6 ; Azimi F7 ; Naddafi K1, 2 ; Shamsipour M8 ; Roostaei V1 ; Faridi S1, 2 ; Hassanvand MS1, 2
Authors
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Authors Affiliations
  1. 1. Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  2. 2. Center for Air Pollution Research (CAPR), Institute for Environmental Research (IER), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  3. 3. Centre for Environmental Health Action (CEHA), World Health Organization (WHO), Amman, Jordan
  4. 4. Center for Solid Waste Research, Institute for Environmental Research (IER), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  5. 5. Faculty of Science, School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health, Brisbane, 4001, Australia
  6. 6. Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Faculty of Health, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran
  7. 7. Environmental Health Research Center, School of Health and Nutrition, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran
  8. 8. Department of Research Methodology and Data Analysis, Institute for Environmental Research (IER), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Source: Journal of Environmental Health Science and Engineering Published:2023


Abstract

Purpose: The Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) countries suffer from exposure to high levels of ambient air pollutants due to dust storms and have unique climatic as well as topographic and socio-economic conditions which lead to adverse health effects on humans. The purpose of the review was to evaluate the quantity and quality of published articles on air pollution and health-based studies in 22 EMR countries to determine if they can be applied to adopting air quality standards. Methods: We designed a review based on a broad search of the literature in the Scopus, PubMed, and web of science (WOS) databases published from January 1, 2000, to January 2, 2022, using combinations of the following relevant terms: air pollution, health, and EMR countries. The generic eligibility criteria for this review were based on the population, exposure, comparator, outcome, and study design (PECOS) statement. Results: The search results showed that following the PRISMA approach, of 2947 identified articles, 353 studies were included in this review. The analysis of the types of studies showed that about 70% of the studies conducted in EMR countries were Health Burden Estimation studies (31%), Ecological and time trend ecological studies (23%), and cross-sectional studies (16%). Also, researchers from Iran participated in the most published relevant studies in the region 255 (~ 63%) and just 10 published documents met all the PECOS criteria. Conclusion: The lack of sufficient studies which can meet the PECOS appraising criteria and the lack of professionals in this field are some of the issues that make it impossible to use as potential documents in the WHO future studies and adopt air quality standards. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Tehran University of Medical Sciences.