One methodological worry I have with some (but not all) of these studies is: suppose some kinds of air pollution interact with a slow-adjusting homeostatic mechanism. In that case, the results on short-term intervention tests wouldn’t generalize to long-term effects.
Some athletes will spend time at higher altitudes, because the reduced air pressure causes their body to produce additional red blood cells to compensate, which they can keep for awhile when they return to sea level. Suppose increasing CO2 or particulate concentration worked the same way as increasing altitude. Then all the studies which worked by manipulating the air in a room for the duration of a single exam would be misleading.
One methodological worry I have with some (but not all) of these studies is: suppose some kinds of air pollution interact with a slow-adjusting homeostatic mechanism. In that case, the results on short-term intervention tests wouldn’t generalize to long-term effects.
Some athletes will spend time at higher altitudes, because the reduced air pressure causes their body to produce additional red blood cells to compensate, which they can keep for awhile when they return to sea level. Suppose increasing CO2 or particulate concentration worked the same way as increasing altitude. Then all the studies which worked by manipulating the air in a room for the duration of a single exam would be misleading.