TY - JOUR

T1 - A review on reducing indoor particulate matter concentrations from personal-level air filtration intervention under real-world exposure situations

AU - Zhu, Yutong

AU - Song, Xiaoming

AU - Wu, Rongshan

AU - Fang, Jiakun

AU - Liu, Lingyan

AU - Wang, Tong

AU - Liu, Shuo

AU - Xu, Hongbing

AU - Huang, Wei

PY - 2021

Y1 - 2021

N2 - Improving air quality in indoor environments where people live is of importance to protect human health. In this systematic review, we assessed the effectiveness of personal-level use of air filtration units in reducing indoor particulate matters (PM) concentrations under real-world situations following systematic review guidelines. A total of 54 articles were included in the review, in which 20 randomized controlled/crossover trials that reported the changes in indoor fine PM (PM2.5) concentrations were quantitatively assessed in meta-analysis. Standardized mean differences (SMDs) were calculated for changes in indoor PM concentrations following air filtration interventions. Moderate-to-large reductions of 11%-82% in indoor PM2.5 concentrations were observed with SMD of -1.19 (95% CI: -1.50, -0.88). The reductions in indoor PM concentrations varied by geographical locations, filtration technology employed, indoor environmental characteristics, and air pollution sources. Most studies were graded with low-to-moderate risk of bias; however, the overall certainty of evidence for indoor PM concentration reductions was graded at very low level. Considering the effectiveness of indoor air filtration under practical uses, socio-economic disparities across study populations, and costs of air filter replacement over time, our results highlight the importance of reducing air pollution exposure at the sources.

AB - Improving air quality in indoor environments where people live is of importance to protect human health. In this systematic review, we assessed the effectiveness of personal-level use of air filtration units in reducing indoor particulate matters (PM) concentrations under real-world situations following systematic review guidelines. A total of 54 articles were included in the review, in which 20 randomized controlled/crossover trials that reported the changes in indoor fine PM (PM2.5) concentrations were quantitatively assessed in meta-analysis. Standardized mean differences (SMDs) were calculated for changes in indoor PM concentrations following air filtration interventions. Moderate-to-large reductions of 11%-82% in indoor PM2.5 concentrations were observed with SMD of -1.19 (95% CI: -1.50, -0.88). The reductions in indoor PM concentrations varied by geographical locations, filtration technology employed, indoor environmental characteristics, and air pollution sources. Most studies were graded with low-to-moderate risk of bias; however, the overall certainty of evidence for indoor PM concentration reductions was graded at very low level. Considering the effectiveness of indoor air filtration under practical uses, socio-economic disparities across study populations, and costs of air filter replacement over time, our results highlight the importance of reducing air pollution exposure at the sources.

KW - air filtration

KW - indoor air pollution

KW - intervention

KW - meta-analysis

KW - particulate matter

KW - systematic review

KW - DOUBLE-BLIND

KW - ULTRAFINE PARTICLES

KW - CARDIORESPIRATORY HEALTH

KW - CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH

KW - PM2.5 CONCENTRATIONS

KW - PREGNANT-WOMEN

KW - BLOOD-PRESSURE

KW - POLLUTION

KW - QUALITY

KW - CROSSOVER

U2 - 10.1111/ina.12922

DO - 10.1111/ina.12922

M3 - Review

C2 - 34374125

VL - 31

SP - 1707

EP - 1721

JO - Indoor Air

JF - Indoor Air

SN - 0905-6947

IS - 6

ER -