Validity of Mobility-Based Exposure Assessment of Air Pollution: A Comparative Analysis with Home-Based Exposure Assessment

Abstract

Air pollution exposure is typically assessed at the front door where people live in large-scale epidemiological studies, overlooking individuals’ daily mobility out-of-home. However, there is limited evidence that incorporating mobility data into personal air pollution assessment improves exposure assessment compared to home-based assessments. This study aimed to compare the agreement between mobility-based and home-based assessments with personal exposure measurements. We measured repeatedly particulate matter (PM2.5) and black carbon (BC) using a sample of 41 older adults in the Netherlands. In total, 104 valid 24 h average personal measurements were collected. Home-based exposures were estimated by combining participants’ home locations and temporal-adjusted air pollution maps. Mobility-based estimates of air pollution were computed based on smartphone-based tracking data, temporal-adjusted air pollution maps, indoor-outdoor penetration, and travel mode adjustment. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) revealed that mobility-based estimates significantly improved agreement with personal measurements compared to home-based assessments. For PM2.5, agreement increased by 64% (ICC: 0.39-0.64), and for BC, it increased by 21% (ICC: 0.43-0.52). Our findings suggest that adjusting for indoor-outdoor pollutant ratios in mobility-based assessments can provide more valid estimates of air pollution than the commonly used home-based assessments, with no added value observed from travel mode adjustments.