Impacts of Aerosols on Human Health in East and Southeast Asia

Abstract

In this article, we give an overview of East Asian epidemiological studies, including part P12 of Grant in-Aid for Scientific Research in Innovative Areas: “Impacts of Aerosols in East Asia on Plants and Human Health.” In particular, we focus on “health effects of East and Southeast Asian air pollution.” The body of research surveyed can be divided into studies on short-term effects and long-term effects.The short-term effect studies can further be divided into studies on local effects and trans-boundary effects. We reviewed research on Japanese cedar pollen diseases and particulate matter for short-term local effects, and Asian dust and particulate matter for trans-boundary effects. For long-term effects, we reviewed critically some research that utilized existing cohort studies.