Benjamin G. Ferris

Bio: Benjamin G. Ferris is an academic researcher from Harvard University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Population & Pulmonary function testing. The author has an hindex of 47, co-authored 105 publications receiving 14997 citations. Previous affiliations of Benjamin G. Ferris include Cardiff University & University of Michigan.

An Association between Air Pollution and Mortality in Six U.S. Cities

Abstract: Background Recent studies have reported associations between particulate air pollution and daily mortality rates. Population-based, cross-sectional studies of metropolitan areas in the United States have also found associations between particulate air pollution and annual mortality rates, but these studies have been criticized, in part because they did not directly control for cigarette smoking and other health risks. Methods In this prospective cohort study, we estimated the effects of air pollution on mortality, while controlling for individual risk factors. Survival analysis, including Cox proportional-hazards regression modeling, was conducted with data from a 14-to-16-year mortality follow-up of 8111 adults in six U.S. cities. Results Mortality rates were most strongly associated with cigarette smoking. After adjusting for smoking and other risk factors, we observed statistically significant and robust associations between air pollution and mortality. The adjusted mortality-rate ratio for the most po...

Effects of inhalable particles on respiratory health of children.

Abstract: Results are presented from a second cross-sectional assessment of the association of air pollution with chronic respiratory health of children participating in the Six Cities Study of Air Pollution and Health. Air pollution measurements collected at quality-controlled monitoring stations included total suspended particulates (TSP), particulate matter less than 15 microns (PM15) and 2.5 microns (PM2.5) aerodynamic diameter, fine fraction aerosol sulfate (FSO4), SO2, O3, and No2. Reported rates of chronic cough, bronchitis, and chest illness during the 1980-1981 school year were positively associated with all measures of particulate pollution (TSP, PM15, PM2.5, and FSO4) and positively but less strongly associated with concentrations of two of the gases (SO2 and NO2). Frequency of earache also tended to be associated with particulate concentrations, but no associations were found with asthma, persistent wheeze, hay fever, or nonrespiratory illness. No associations were found between pollutant concentrations and any of the pulmonary function measures considered (FVC, FEV1, FEV0.75, and MMEF). Children with a history of wheeze or asthma had a much higher prevalence of respiratory symptoms, and there was some evidence that the association between air pollutant concentrations and symptom rates was stronger among children with these markers for hyperreactive airways. These data provide further evidence that rates of respiratory illnesses and symptoms are elevated among children living in cities with high particulate pollution. They also suggest that children with hyperreactive airways may be particularly susceptible to other respiratory symptoms when exposed to these pollutants.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Pulmonary function between 6 and 18 years of age.

Abstract: Pulmonary function of children aged 6-18 years is described based on 82,462 annual measurements of forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expired volume in 1 second (FEV1), and forced expiratory flow between 25% and 75% of FVC (FEF25-75%) from 11,630 white children and 989 black children. Median height, FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC, and FEF25-75% for each 3 months of age are compared among race and sex subgroups. Race- and sex-specific percentile distributions of FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC, and FEF25-75% are presented for each centimeter of height (growth curves). For the same height, boys have greater lung function values than girls, and whites have greater ones than blacks. Lung function increases linearly with age until the adolescent growth spurt at about age 10 years in girls and 12 in boys. The pulmonary function vs. height relationship shifts with age during adolescence. Thus, a single equation or the pulmonary function-height growth chart alone does not completely describe growth during the complex adolescent period. Nevertheless, race- and sex-specific growth curves of pulmonary function vs. height make it easy to display and evaluate repeated measures of pulmonary function for an individual child. Race-, sex-, and age-specific regression equations based on height are provided, which permit the evaluation of growth during adolescence with improved accuracy and, more importantly, in comparison with previous observations for the same child.

Home dampness and respiratory morbidity in children.

Abstract: This study examined the relationship between measures of home dampness and respiratory illness and symptoms in a cohort of 4,625 eight- to 12-yr-old children living in six U.S. cities. Home dampness was characterized from questionnaire reports of mold or mildew inside the home, water damage to the home, and the occurrence of water on the basement floor. Symptoms of respiratory and other illness were collected by questionnaire. Pulmonary function was measured by spirometry. Signs of home dampness were reported in a large proportion of the homes. In five of the six cities, one or more of the dampness indicators were reported in more than 50% of the homes. The association between measures of home dampness and both respiratory symptoms and other non-chest illness was both strong and consistent. Odds ratios for molds varied from 1.27 to 2.12, and for dampness from 1.23 to 2.16 after adjustment for maternal smoking, age, gender, city of residence, and parental education. The relationship between home dampness and pulmonary function was weak, with an estimated mean reduction of 1.0% in FEF25-75 associated with dampness and 1.6% with molds. We conclude that dampness in the home is common in many areas of the United States and that home dampness is a strong predictor of symptoms of respiratory and other illness symptoms among 8- to 12-yr-old children.

Passive smoking, gas cooking, and respiratory health of children living in six cities.

Abstract: As part of a longitudinal study of the respiratory health effects of indoor and outdoor air pollutants, pulmonary function, respiratory illness history, and symptom history were recorded at 2 successive annual examinations of 10,106 white children living in 6 cities in the United States. Parental education, illness history, and smoking habits also were recorded, along with the fuel used for cooking in the child's home. Maternal cigarette smoking was associated with increases of 20 to 35% in the rates of 8 respiratory illnesses and symptoms investigated, and paternal smoking was associated with smaller but still substantial increases. Illness and symptom rates were linearly related to the number of cigarettes smoked by the child's mother. Illness rates were higher for children of current smokers than for children of ex-smokers. The associations between maternal smoking status and childhood respiratory illnesses and symptoms were reduced but not eliminated by adjustment for parental illness history. Levels of forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) were significantly lower for children of current smokers than for children of nonsmokers at both examinations and highest for children of ex-smokers. Levels of forced vital capacity (FVC) were lower for children of nonsmokers than for children of current smokers at both examinations, but the difference was statistically significant only at the first examination. Both the increase in mean FVC and the decrease in mean FEV1 among children of current smokers were linearly related to daily cigarette consumption. None of the respiratory illnesses and symptoms studied was significantly associated with exposure to gas cooking in the child's home.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Standardisation of spirometry

Abstract: [⇓][1] SERIES “ATS/ERS TASK FORCE: STANDARDISATION OF LUNG FUNCTION TESTING” Edited by V. Brusasco, R. Crapo and G. Viegi Number 2 in this Series [1]: #F13

Lung Cancer, Cardiopulmonary Mortality, and Long-term Exposure to Fine Particulate Air Pollution

Abstract: ContextAssociations have been found between day-to-day particulate air pollution and increased risk of various adverse health outcomes, including cardiopulmonary mortality. However, studies of health effects of long-term particulate air pollution have been less conclusive.ObjectiveTo assess the relationship between long-term exposure to fine particulate air pollution and all-cause, lung cancer, and cardiopulmonary mortality.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsVital status and cause of death data were collected by the American Cancer Society as part of the Cancer Prevention II study, an ongoing prospective mortality study, which enrolled approximately 1.2 million adults in 1982. Participants completed a questionnaire detailing individual risk factor data (age, sex, race, weight, height, smoking history, education, marital status, diet, alcohol consumption, and occupational exposures). The risk factor data for approximately 500 000 adults were linked with air pollution data for metropolitan areas throughout the United States and combined with vital status and cause of death data through December 31, 1998.Main Outcome MeasureAll-cause, lung cancer, and cardiopulmonary mortality.ResultsFine particulate and sulfur oxide–related pollution were associated with all-cause, lung cancer, and cardiopulmonary mortality. Each 10-µg/m3 elevation in fine particulate air pollution was associated with approximately a 4%, 6%, and 8% increased risk of all-cause, cardiopulmonary, and lung cancer mortality, respectively. Measures of coarse particle fraction and total suspended particles were not consistently associated with mortality.ConclusionLong-term exposure to combustion-related fine particulate air pollution is an important environmental risk factor for cardiopulmonary and lung cancer mortality.

An Association between Air Pollution and Mortality in Six U.S. Cities

Abstract: Background Recent studies have reported associations between particulate air pollution and daily mortality rates. Population-based, cross-sectional studies of metropolitan areas in the United States have also found associations between particulate air pollution and annual mortality rates, but these studies have been criticized, in part because they did not directly control for cigarette smoking and other health risks. Methods In this prospective cohort study, we estimated the effects of air pollution on mortality, while controlling for individual risk factors. Survival analysis, including Cox proportional-hazards regression modeling, was conducted with data from a 14-to-16-year mortality follow-up of 8111 adults in six U.S. cities. Results Mortality rates were most strongly associated with cigarette smoking. After adjusting for smoking and other risk factors, we observed statistically significant and robust associations between air pollution and mortality. The adjusted mortality-rate ratio for the most po...

Economic Growth and the Environment

Abstract: We examine the reduced-form relationship between per capita income and various environmental indicators. Our study covers four types of indicators: urban air pollution, the state of the oxygen regime in river basins, fecal contamination of ri'ver basins, and contamination of river basins by heavy metals. We find no evidence that environmental quality deteriorates steadily with economic growth. Rather, for most indicators, economic growth brings an initial phase of deterioration followed by a subsequent phase of improvement. The turning points for the different pollutants vary, but in most cases they come before a country reaches a per capita income of $8000. I. INTRODUCTION Will continued economic growth bring ever greater harm to the earth's environment? Or do increases in income and wealth sow the seeds for the amelioration of ecological problems? The answers to these questions are critical for the design of appropriate development strategies for lesser developed countries. Exhaustible and renewable natural resources serve as inputs into the production of many goods and services. If the composition of output and the methods of production were immutable, then damage to the environment would be inextricably linked to the scale of global economic activity. But substantial evidence suggests that development gives rise to a structural transformation in what an economy produces (see Syrquin [1989]). And societies have shown remarkable ingenuity in harnessing new technologies to conserve scarce resources. In principle, the forces leading to change in the composition and techniques of production may be sufficiently strong to more than offset the adverse effects of increased economic activity on the environment. In this paper we address this empirical issue using panel data on ambient pollution levels in many countries. Examination of the empirical relationship between national income and measures of environmental quality began with our *We thank the Ford Foundation, the Sloan Foundation, the John S. Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the Institute for Policy Reform, and the Centers of International Studies and of Economic Policy Studies at Princeton University for financial support. We are grateful to Peter Jaffee, who tutored us on the various dimensions of water quality, to Robert Bisson, who provided us with the GEMS/ Water data, and to seminar participants at the O.E.C.D. Development Centre and the Institute for International Economic Studies in Stockholm, Sweden, who gave us helpful comments and suggestions. Special thanks go to James Laity, whose research assistance was simply extraordinary.

Health effects of fine particulate air pollution: lines that connect

Abstract: Efforts to understand and mitigate the health effects of particulate matter (PM) air pollution have a rich and interesting history. This review focuses on six substantial lines of research that have been pursued since 1997 that have helped elucidate our understanding about the effects of PM on human health. There has been substantial progress in the evaluation of PM health effects at different time-scales of exposure and in the exploration of the shape of the concentration-response function. There has also been emerging evidence of PM-related cardiovascular health effects and growing knowledge regarding interconnected general pathophysiological pathways that link PM exposure with cardiopulmonary morbidity and mortality. Despite important gaps in scientific knowledge and continued reasons for some skepticism, a comprehensive evaluation of the research findings provides persuasive evidence that exposure to fine particulate air pollution has adverse effects on cardiopulmonary health. Although much of this research has been motivated by environmental public health policy, these results have important scientific, medical, and public health implications that are broader than debates over legally mandated air quality standards.