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Adverse Effects of Environmental Contaminants on Human Health
Professor Kin-fai Ho is an environmental scientist with substantial experience in indoor, outdoor and personal exposure to environmental contaminants research. His studies link exposure assessment with health endpoints to identify the harmful effects of environmental contaminants on human health, which can help support the development of control strategies to reduce the adverse health effects of air pollution in Hong Kong and mainland China. Professor Ho is also a Visiting Professor of Taipei Medical University, who collaborates with local researchers to examine the cardiorespiratory risk of ambient non-methane hydrocarbons and volatile organic compounds (VOC) in Taipei.
With support from the Vice-Chancellor’s Discretionary Fund, Professor Kin-fai Ho's work includes:
1. To examine the effects of personal temperature exposure on blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) level in older people with and without chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This is a panel study with real-time monitoring of environmental exposures and health measures in Hong Kong. Results showed that the decline in SpO2 in older people was associated with increased personal temperature exposure within minutes to hours, particularly in women and male patients with COPD. Temperature-induced oxygen desaturation may play a pivotal role in COPD exacerbation.
Research findings have been published:
Qiu, H., Xia, X., Man, C. L., Ko, F. W., Yim, S. H. L., Kwok, T. C., & Ho, K. F. (2020). Real-Time Monitoring of the Effects of Personal Temperature Exposure on the Blood Oxygen Saturation Level in Elderly People with and without Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Panel Study in Hong Kong. Environmental Science & Technology, 54(11), 6869-6877. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.0c01799
Impact Factor: 9.028 (2020)
2. To examine the acute effects of ambient non-methane hydrocarbons exposure on hospital admissions for respiratory diseases. This is a time-series study conducted in Taipei, Taiwan, demonstrating the statistically significant excess risk of hospital admissions for respiratory diseases associated with the increment of airborne non-methane hydrocarbons exposure on the same day. The findings that airborne NMHC exposure increased the risk of respiratory-disease-related hospital admissions in Taipei may aid in the regulation of hydrocarbon pollution.
Research findings have been published:
Qiu, H., Bai, C. H., Chuang, K. J., Fan, Y. C., Chang, T. P., Yim, S. H. L., & Ho, K. F. (2020). Association of ambient non-methane hydrocarbons exposure with respiratory hospitalizations: A time series study in Taipei, Taiwan. Science of The Total Environment, 729, 139010. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139010
Impact Factor: 7.963 (2020)
3. To investigate the health risks of ambient volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In the past decade, the concentration of ground-level ozone (O3) has progressively increased. As essential precursors of O3 and secondary organic aerosol, the harmful impact of ambient VOC exposure is of public health interest. This is also a time-series study conducted in Taipei, Taiwan, demonstrating the associations of exposure to VOC subgroups and main species with hospitalizations for cardiorespiratory diseases in Taipei. Research findings from this study may serve as a reference for VOC regulation and O3 control strategies.
Research findings have been published:
Qiu, H., Bai, C. H., Chuang, K. J., Fan, Y. C., Chang, T. P., Yim, S. H. L., & Ho, K. F. (2021). Association of cardiorespiratory hospital admissions with ambient volatile organic compounds: Evidence from a time-series study in Taipei, Taiwan. Chemosphere, 276, 130172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.130172
Impact Factor: 7.086 (2020)
4. To examine and compare the association of ambient ozone with pneumonia hospital admissions in Hong Kong and Taipei. Ozone (O3) is a reactive oxidant exerting both inflammatory and oxidative damages to the respiratory system. With the ground-level O3 progressively increasing in the past decade, the re-evaluation of the pneumonia risk from exposure to O3 is of public interest. We conducted this ecological time-series analysis in Hong Kong and Taipei, respectively, to examine the city-specific association between short-term O3 exposure and pneumonia hospitalizations. We demonstrated the statistically significant associations of short-term O3 exposure with pneumonia hospitalizations in the elderly population in two Southeast Asian cities, and the associations were robust to the use of different ozone metrics and co-pollutant adjustment for PM2.5 and NO2. It adds to the literature with a consistent association between ambient O3 and pneumonia hospitalizations for the elderly population in two Southeast Asian cities. Understanding the pneumonia risk of O3 will help inform public health policies in the planning of ozone control strategies and intervention measures to prevent ozone-related pneumonia in vulnerable elderly population.
Research findings have been published:
Qiu, H., Chuang, K. J., Bai, C. H., Fan, Y. C., Chang, T. P., Yim, S. H. L., ... & Ho, K. F. (2021). Association of ambient ozone with pneumonia hospital admissions in Hong Kong and Taipei: A tale of two Southeast Asian cities. Environment International, 156, 106634. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2021.106634
Impact Factor: 9.621 (2020)
5. An outdoor solar assisted large-scale cleaning system (SALSCS) has been constructed to mitigate the levels of fine particulate matter in urban areas of Xi’an China, offering an innovative solution to air pollution related public health problem (Cyranoski, 2018). Taking advantage of this real-world quasi-interventional opportunity, we conducted current epidemiological study to examine the biological responses of a retired population to the SALSCS intervention and changes in pollution level. We demonstrate that the SALSCS intervention and decreased ambient air pollution exposure results in lower burden of systemic inflammation and oxidative stress in older adults.
Reference:
Cyranoski, D. (2018). China tests giant air cleaner to combat smog. Nature, 555 (7695). https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-02704-9
Impact Factor: 49.962 (2020)
Research findings have been published:
Qiu, H., Niu, X. Y., Cao, J. J., Xu, H. M., Xiao, S., Zhang, N. N., Xia, X., Shen, Z. X., Huang, Y., Lau, G. N., Yim, S. H. L., Ho, K. F. (2021). Inflammatory and oxidative stress responses of healthy elders to solar-assisted large-scale cleaning system (SALSCS) and changes in ambient air pollution: A quasi-interventional study in Xi'an, China. Science of the Total Environment, 151217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.151217
Impact Factor: 7.963 (2020)
Acknowledgement:
This section of research project was supported by grants from the Vice-Chancellor’s Discretionary Fund of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (project no.: 4930744), the Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong (project no. CUHK 412413 and 14203719), and the Innovation and Technology Fund from the Innovation and Technology Commission of Hong Kong (project no. ARF/136, Cognitive Health Detection Device).
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