Background: Individuals with COPD have increased sensitivity to traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) such as diesel exhaust (DE), but little is known about the acute effects of TRAP on exercise responses in COPD. Research Question: Does exposure before exercise to TRAP (DE titrated to 300 μg/m3 particulate matter < 2.5 μm in diameter [DE300]) show greater adverse effects on exercise endurance, exertional dyspnea, and cardiorespiratory responses to exercise in participants with mild to moderate COPD compared with former smokers with normal spirometry and healthy control participants?
A review in support of SDGs 3 and 13, highlighting the need to link population-based mental health outcome databases to weather data for causal inference, and for greater collaborations between mental health providers and data scientists to guide the formation of clinically relevant research questions on climate change.