Exposure to Source-Specific Particulate Matter and Health Effects: a Review of Epidemiological Studies

Purpose of Review: Estimating the associations between health effects and source-specific particulate matter (PM) exposure is critical to understand how PM exposure impacts health and to develop effective policies in protecting public health against PM pollution. In this paper, global studies in the past 6 years (07/27/2016 to 06/30/2022) on the associations between source-specific PM exposure and health effects were reviewed to understand the development of source apportionment (SA) technology in the epidemiological studies on PM and health effects. We searched the PubMed database and finally obtained 51 articles. Recent Findings: The combinations of SA models and epidemiological models were conducted in these studies to address the source-specific health effects. A systematic review of these studies revealed that PM emitted from different sources contributed to those health effects, and these effects varied greatly with regions. Moreover, we discussed the effects of secondary aerosols on health outcomes, the consistency of source and its marker constituents in the effects on health outcomes, exposure error and spatial misclassification of the source exposure, and future applications of the SA technologies in epidemiological studies. Summary: More studies in the different regions on health effects associated with source-specific PM are required to determine how source-specific exposure impacts health.