# Impact of COVID-19 related stay-at-home orders on traffic, traffic-related air pollution, and cardiovascular health in New York City

> **NIH NIH F31** · COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES · 2022 · $29,722

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
 Globally, air pollution is responsible for an estimated 4.2 million deaths per year. In New York City (NYC),
traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) contributes to an estimated 320 deaths and 870 hospitalizations per year and
is associated with increased risk of stroke and myocardial infarction (MI); additionally, lower socioeconomic
status (SES) groups face a higher burden. Stay-at-home orders in response to the coronavirus disease (COVID-
19) pandemic can be thought of as a traffic intervention policy; it has impacted traffic congestion and TRAP at
an unprecedented level. However, this change has not been assessed at fine spatio-temporal resolution in NYC,
challenging the epidemiologic study of its impact on stroke and MI, including variation by SES and chronic
disease burden (CDB; i.e., proportion of people with hypertension, diabetes, obesity). During the pandemic,
substantial decreases in emergency department visits for stroke and MI, which can be triggered by TRAP, have
been observed. While this decrease is likely driven in part by reduced care seeking, given known associations
between TRAP and stroke/MI, the large decreases in TRAP likely contributed to this decline. However, this has
not yet been investigated in NYC. Additionally, given that the vehicle fleet composition has likely shifted during
the pandemic (e.g., proportionally more delivery trucks), the relationship between congestion, TRAP, and
stroke/MI during the pandemic is not known. To address these gaps, this proposal will: (1) evaluate the impact
of stay-at-home orders related to the COVID-19 pandemic on (A) traffic congestion and (B) TRAP in NYC; and
assess variation in congestion by indices of SES and CDB; (2) estimate the number of acute TRAP-associated
stroke and MI hospitalizations expected to be prevented by altered TRAP during the pandemic, compare to total
observed changes in stroke/MI hospitalizations, and assess variability by SES and CDB; and (3) (exploratory)
investigate the associations between congestion, TRAP, stroke, and MI hospitalizations during the pandemic.
 The main goal of the training plan is to provide the applicant with the skills, expertise, and experience to
conduct rigorous public health research in the field of environmental epidemiology, with a focus in air pollution
and health disparities research. The training plan includes a mix of formal didactic training, applied research
experience, professional development, and oral presentation opportunities. It will focus on the following training
priorities: (1) causal inference; (2) environmental health disparities; (3) air pollution exposure assessment for
large-scale health studies; (4) strategies for oral communication of science; (5) advanced biostatistical methods
for environmental health sciences; and (6) training in grant writing, design, and management. The environment
of Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health is ideal for the proposed project, given the schoo...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10403961
- **Project number:** 5F31ES033098-02
- **Recipient organization:** COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES
- **Principal Investigator:** Jenni Shearston
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $29,722
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-09-01 → 2023-07-07

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10403961

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10403961, Impact of COVID-19 related stay-at-home orders on traffic, traffic-related air pollution, and cardiovascular health in New York City (5F31ES033098-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10403961. Licensed CC0.

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