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The role of perceived pollution and health risk perception in annoyance and health symptoms: a population-based study of odorous air pollution

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Abstract

Objectives

Health effects associated with air pollution at exposure levels below toxicity may not be directly related to level of exposure, but rather mediated by perception of the air pollution and by top-down processing (e.g., beliefs that the exposure is hazardous). The aim of the study was to test a model that describes interrelations between odorous air pollution at non-toxic exposure levels, perceived pollution, health risk perception, annoyance and health symptoms.

Methods

A population-based questionnaire study was conducted in a Swedish community of residents living near a biofuel facility that emitted odorous substances. Individuals aged 18–75 years were selected at random for participation (n = 1,118); 722 (65 %) agreed to participate. Path analyses were performed to test the validity of the model.

Results

The data support a model proposing that exposure level does not directly influence annoyance and symptoms, and that these relations instead are mediated by perceived pollution and health risk perception.

Conclusions

Perceived pollution and health risk perception play important roles in understanding and predicting environmentally induced annoyance and health symptoms in odorous environments at non-toxic levels of exposure.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by grants from Sydkraft Värme AB, the European territorial cooperation program Botnia-Atlantica, the region of Västerbotten (Sweden) and the Regional Council of Ostrobothnia (Finland). The authors wish to thank the County Council of Jönköping and the Environment and Protection Board in Värnamo for their support, Inger Fagerlund for excellent assistance and Annika Glader for supervising the TEMA project of which this work was part.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Umeå, Sweden

    Anna-Sara Claeson, Edvard Lidén, Maria Nordin & Steven Nordin

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  1. Anna-Sara Claeson
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  2. Edvard Lidén
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  3. Maria Nordin
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  4. Steven Nordin
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Correspondence to Anna-Sara Claeson.

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Claeson, AS., Lidén, E., Nordin, M. et al. The role of perceived pollution and health risk perception in annoyance and health symptoms: a population-based study of odorous air pollution. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 86, 367–374 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-012-0770-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-012-0770-8

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