Methods Matter: A Comparative Review of Health Risk Assessments for Ambient Air Pollution in Switzerland

Alberto Castro; Martin Röösli; Kees de Hoogh; Ron Kappeler; Meltem Kutlar Joss; Danielle Vienneau; Nino Künzli

doi:10.3389/phrs.2022.1604431

Methods Matter: A Comparative Review of Health Risk Assessments for Ambient Air Pollution in Switzerland

Public Health Rev. 2022 Apr 6:43:1604431. doi: 10.3389/phrs.2022.1604431. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Alberto Castro^{1

2}, Martin Röösli^{1

2}, Kees de Hoogh^{1

2}, Ron Kappeler^{1

2}, Meltem Kutlar Joss^{1

2}, Danielle Vienneau^{1

2}, Nino Künzli^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
² Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH), Basel, Switzerland.

Abstract

Objectives: Air pollution health risk assessments (AP-HRAs) provide a method to quantify health effects for entire populations. In Switzerland, AP-HRAs are included in Swiss assessments for Transport Externalities (STEs), ordered by public authorities since the 1990s. This study aimed to describe the differences among national and international AP-HRAs for Switzerland. Methods: We compared input data, approaches and results across AP-HRAs over time. Results and input data for each AP-HRA were expressed as a ratio compared to the most recent STE (in most cases STE-2010). Results: Substantial variation across AP-HRAs was found. For all-cause adult mortality attributed to particulate matter (the most frequent outcome-pollutant pair), the ratio in HRAs oscillated from 0.40 to 2.09 (times the STE-2010 value). Regarding input data, the ratio ranged from 0.69 to 1.26 for population exposure, from 0 to 1.81 for counterfactual scenario, from 0.96 to 1.13 for concentration-response function and from 1.03 to 1.13 for baseline health data. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that methods matter for AP-HRAs. Transparent and possibly standardized reporting of key input data and assumptions should be promoted to facilitate comparison of AP-HRAs.

Keywords: Switzerland; air pollution; burden of disease; health impact assessment; health risk assessment; mortality; particulate matter.

Publication types

Review