EAPOC Study

Air pollution collectively describes the presence of a complex mixture of particulate matter (PM), organic compounds (e.g. polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and endotoxins), gases (e.g. carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides, ground-level ozone, nitrogen oxides) and metals present in indoor and outdoor air, which can cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms.

Although the effects of prolonged exposure to traffic-related air pollution (TrAP), specifically, are well characterized with respect to respiratory and cardiovascular outcomes, comparatively little is known about the impact of particulate matter on affective and cognitive processes, neurodegenerative effects and microcirculation. Research using animal models, along with epidemiology, has greatly enhanced our understanding of DE-related cognitive and learning outcomes, and has implicated several important potential mechanisms. However, such models are inherently limited given interspecies differences (animal models), some degree of unavoidable residual confounding (epidemiology), and a bias towards subacute or chronic effects (epidemiology).

By largely overcoming these limitations, our in vivo human model, using freshly-generated exhaust that is diluted and aged to reflect real-world conditions, allows us to augment existing knowledge in a manner applicable both to current research on environmental effects on cognition, as well as current public health concerns of great relevance to Canadians. This study has finished subject enrolment and data analysis is now underway.