Publication details
Daily relationship between air pollution, weather, and objectively-measured physical activity in industrial regions
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| Year of publication | 2024 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
| Citation | |
| Description | Background: Physical activity (PA) has profound benefits for physical and mental health, yet its insufficient levels pose a worldwide issue. Air pollution (AP) and various weather-related parameters have been found to affect PA. We examine daily relationships between AP, weather, and PA levels of individuals living in industrial regions. Methods: Data comes from the first 14-day intensive monitoring burst of the 4HAIE study conducted in the Czech Republic 2019-2022. A sample of 643 participants living in the Moravian-Silesian region (5891 person-days, 48.10% women; Mage=38.82, SD=12.42, 18-65) was included in the analyses. Daily step counts were measured objectively using Fitbits. AP and weather parameters were derived from the nearest monitoring station to the participants’ locations. Results: Preliminary analyses using multi-level models have indicated that temperature, humidity, and precipitation were related to step counts at the daily level. AP was not correlated with daily step counts on average, but participants showed varying degrees of association, suggesting potential exploration into individual differences in this regard. We controlled for the effect of socio-demographic variables on step counts. Further suitable analytical approaches (e.g., modeling non-linear associations) will be explored and AP and weather data will be validated. Discussion: Our work brings important findings on daily relationships between AP, weather and PA, which may inform future PA interventions. Individuals living in industrial regions might be engaging in physical activity regardless of the air pollution status. Health-related implications of present analyses are important for policymakers in industrial regions. |