Valuing health effects of air pollution - Focus on concentration-response functions

The study investigates the morbidity impacts of air pollution when that pollution may affect both the likelihood and duration of respiratory problems. The relationship between comparatively low pollutant levels and respiratory ailments is estimated using Swedish data, and the change in respiratory restricted activity days (RRAD) due to a unit change in NO2 is calculated. The analysis addresses overdispersion, the high proportion of zeros and the peak in the RRAD distribution. Our results highlight the challenge of setting air quality standards for environments where modest increases in pollutant concentrations may significantly prolong respiratory health problems for the most vulnerable individuals. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.