SynthesisEnvironmental health perspectives2011
Black carbon as an additional indicator of the adverse health effects of airborne particles compared with PM10 and PM2.5.
Synthesis in Environmental health perspectives, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 228 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
228 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Long-term exposure to elemental carbon and disease incidence: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Environmental health : a global access science source · 2025Pooled it
- Long-Term Exposure to Traffic-Related Air Pollution and Diabetes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.International journal of public health · 2023Pooled it
- An updated systematic review on the association between atmospheric particulate matter pollution and prevalence of SARS-CoV-2.Environmental research · 2021Pooled it
- The short- and long-term associations of particulate matter with inflammation and blood coagulation markers: A meta-analysis.Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987) · 2020Pooled it
- A systematic review of cardiovascular responses associated with ambient black carbon and fine particulate matter.Environment international · 2019Pooled it
- Interventions to reduce ambient particulate matter air pollution and their effect on health.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2019Pooled it
- Acute effects of fine particulate matter constituents on mortality: A systematic review and meta-regression analysis.Environment international · 2017Pooled it
- A systematic review of cardiovascular emergency department visits, hospital admissions and mortality associated with ambient black carbon.Environment international · 2017Pooled it
- Effects of household and participant characteristics on personal exposure and kitchen concentration of fine particulate matter and black carbon in rural Honduras.Environmental research · 2022Trial
- Short-term differences in cardiac function following controlled exposure to cookstove air pollution: The subclinical tests on volunteers exposed to smoke (STOVES) study.Environment international · 2021Trial
- Exposure to outdoor ultrafine particle number concentrations and incidence of childhood cancer: A population-based cohort study.Environmental epidemiology (Philadelphia, Pa.) · 2026Article
- The Hidden Health and Climate Burden of Black Carbon under China's Dual Carbon Strategy.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Advancing Long-Term Outdoor Air Pollution Exposure Assessment for Health Studies: Lessons from a Multinational Research Initiative.Current environmental health reports · 2026Review
- Adverse Effects of Carbon Black Nanoparticles on Maternal and Fetal Lungs in Pregnant Mice: Insights From a Metabolomics Perspective.FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology · 2026Article
- Health Risk of Fine Particulate Matter Across China with a Pollutant-Specific Index from 2013 to 2023.Environmental science & technology · 2026Article
- Spatial and Temporal Trends of Ambient PMACS ES&T air · 2026Article
- Article
- Source-Specific Air Pollution and Risk of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Pooled Cohort Study.Environmental health perspectives · 2026Article
- Trends in New York State Light-Duty Vehicle Fleet Composition: Emission Standards and Engine Technology (2013-2025).Atmospheric pollution research · 2026Article
- Association between PMBMC public health · 2026Article
168 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCurrent air quality standards for particulate matter (PM) use the PM mass concentration [PM with aerodynamic diameters ≤ 10 μm (PM(10)) or ≤ 2.5 μm (PM(2.5))] as a metric. It has been suggested that particles from combustion sources are more relevant to human health than are particles from other sources, but the impact of policies directed at reducing PM from combustion processes is usually relatively small when effects are estimated for a reduction in the total mass concentration.
objectivesWe evaluated the value of black carbon particles (BCP) as an additional indicator in air quality management.
methodsWe performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of health effects of BCP compared with PM mass based on data from time-series studies and cohort studies that measured both exposures. We compared the potential health benefits of a hypothetical traffic abatement measure, using near-roadway concentration increments of BCP and PM(2.5) based on data from prior studies.
resultsEstimated health effects of a 1-μg/m3 increase in exposure were greater for BCP than for PM(10) or PM(2.5), but estimated effects of an interquartile range increase were similar. Two-pollutant models in time-series studies suggested that the effect of BCP was more robust than the effect of PM mass. The estimated increase in life expectancy associated with a hypothetical traffic abatement measure was four to nine times higher when expressed in BCP compared with an equivalent change in PM(2.5) mass.
conclusionBCP is a valuable additional air quality indicator to evaluate the health risks of air quality dominated by primary combustion particles.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.