Establishing integrated rural–urban cohorts to assess air pollution-related health effects in pregnant women children and adults in Southern India: an overview of objectives design and methods in the Tamil Nadu Air Pollution and Health Effects (TAPHE) study

摘要

IntroductionIn rapidly developing countries such as India, the ubiquity of air pollution sources in urban and rural communities often results in ambient and household exposures significantly in excess of health-based air quality guidelines. Few efforts, however, have been directed at establishing quantitative exposure–response relationships in such settings. We describe study protocols for The Tamil Nadu Air Pollution and Health Effects (TAPHE) study, which aims to examine the association between fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposures and select maternal, child and adult health outcomes in integrated rural–urban cohorts.