Fine particulate matter and cardiovascular disease

The 1996 EPA Air Quality Criteria for Particulate Matter relied in large part upon epidemiologic studies of the short-term (acute) effects of inhalable particulate matter (PM) exposures on all-cause mortality and hospitalizations with very limited experimental evidence from toxicology or clinical studies. Recent research has identified several plausible biological mechanisms for both the initial pulmonary injury and the consequent systemic effects. Current epidemiologic research interests include the component(s) of PM which are responsible for the initial pulmonary injury, the effects of co-pollutants such as ozone, and the pathophysiological mechanisms for PM-induced acute health effects.