Effectiveness of Pollution Monitoring in Clinical Exercise Rehabilitation

NCT07500948 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 2 other identifiers: 1058348160
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 80
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

The primary objective of EPIC-AIR is to evaluate the feasibility and potential effectiveness of integrating real-time air pollution monitoring into CR and PR programmes via an online platform that delivers both exercise prescription and air pollution guidance. Specific objectives are: (1) to determine whether access to real-time air quality data reduces personal pollution exposure (PM2.5, PM10, NO2) during outdoor physical activity in CR/PR patients and healthy volunteers; (2) to evaluate the usability and acceptability of the platform in a clinical rehabilitation context; (3) to assess the feasibility of the trial design, including recruitment, randomisation, retention, and adherence rates; (4) to measure the impact of the intervention on physical activity levels, health-related quality of life, and cardiovascular biomarkers; and (5) to inform the design and sample size of a future definitive randomised controlled trial.

Conditions

COPD; Cardiovascular Disease; Asthma

Keywords

air pollution; cardiac rehabilitation; exercise

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Ambient air pollution exposure per minute of physical activity (µg/m³ per minute of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per week)

  Mean ambient PM₂.₅ and NO₂ exposure per minute of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per week, calculated by integrating real-time local air quality data with wrist-worn accelerometer-derived MVPA minutes . The primary comparison will be change from baseline in pollution exposure per minute of MVPA between the air quality information arm and the active comparator arm at 12 weeks.

  Baseline to 12 weeks

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Weekly physical activity (weekly minutes, measured by wrist-worn accelerometry)

  Baseline to 12 weeks

Study Arms (2)

Air Quality Information Provided

EXPERIMENTAL

In this arm, participants will receive the exercise training programme alongside detailed local air quality information.

Other: Progressive Walking Exercise Programme

Air Quality Information Not Provided

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

In this arm, participants will receive the exercise training programme only.

Other: Progressive Walking Exercise Programme

Interventions

Progressive Walking Exercise Programme OTHER

Participants will receive a progressive, personalised walking exercise programme aimed to increase their weekly levels of physical activity over a 12 week study period.

Air Quality Information Not Provided; Air Quality Information Provided

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Leicester: lead

Related Publications (3)

• McCreanor J, Cullinan P, Nieuwenhuijsen MJ, Stewart-Evans J, Malliarou E, Jarup L, Harrington R, Svartengren M, Han IK, Ohman-Strickland P, Chung KF, Zhang J. Respiratory effects of exposure to diesel traffic in persons with asthma. N Engl J Med. 2007 Dec 6;357(23):2348-58. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa071535.

  PMID: 18057337 BACKGROUND

• Sinharay R, Gong J, Barratt B, Ohman-Strickland P, Ernst S, Kelly FJ, Zhang JJ, Collins P, Cullinan P, Chung KF. Respiratory and cardiovascular responses to walking down a traffic-polluted road compared with walking in a traffic-free area in participants aged 60 years and older with chronic lung or heart disease and age-matched healthy controls: a randomised, crossover study. Lancet. 2018 Jan 27;391(10118):339-349. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)32643-0. Epub 2017 Dec 5.

  PMID: 29221643 BACKGROUND

• Holgate ST. 'Every breath we take: the lifelong impact of air pollution' - a call for action. Clin Med (Lond). 2017 Feb;17(1):8-12. doi: 10.7861/clinmedicine.17-1-8.

  PMID: 28148571 BACKGROUND

Related Links

• World Health Organization. Ambient (outdoor) air pollution. 2022
• Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants (COMEAP). Statement: overview of advice provided to the Air Quality Information System (AQIS) review steering group. London: COMEAP; 2024.

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Cardiovascular Diseases; Asthma; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive; Motor Activity

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Bronchial Diseases; Respiratory Tract Diseases; Lung Diseases, Obstructive; Lung Diseases; Respiratory Hypersensitivity; Hypersensitivity, Immediate; Hypersensitivity; Immune System Diseases; Chronic Disease; Disease Attributes; Pathologic Processes; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Behavior

Study Officials

• Andre Ng, Ph.D, MD

  University of Leicester

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

James A Donaldson, Ph.D

CONTACT

+447990571690; jad72@leicester.ac.uk

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, INVESTIGATOR
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: March 24, 2026
• First Posted: March 30, 2026
• Study Start: May 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): March 1, 2027
• Last Updated: March 30, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-03

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share