Indoor and outdoor environmental pollution, diet and aspects of food safety in China: Health studies in school children in different parts of Chi Luftföroreningar inomhus och utomhus, kostvanor och säkerhetsaspekter av kosten: Hälsostudier bland skolbarn i olika delar av kina Heading: Environmental and dietary studies in Chinese children There is a high level of outdoor air pollution in some parts of China (People's Republic of), due to coal burning, traffic exhausts, and industrial activities. This can influence the health of both adults and children. Since both adults and children spend about 90% of their life indoors, indoor pollution is also important. It has been estimated that globally, indoor air pollution is responsible for nearly 2 million excess deaths per year in developing countries, and for about 4% of the global burden of disease. Both indoor and outdoor air pollution has the strongest impact on the poorer part of the population, because higher exposure levels, and higher susceptibility due to higher exposure levels and poorer nutritional status. In China (People's Republic of), the building stock is rapidly increasing, and new building material, building techniques are introduced and there is an increase of energy use in buildings. This may have consequences for the indoor environment. Dietary pattern is changing, and there is evidence that the levels and chemical contamination of food products is significant and higher than in Europe. One important type of food contamination is by phthalates, bis-phenol A and other hormone disrupting chemicals. We have had co-operation with China (People's Republic of) (Shanxi University and Fudan University and others) since 1998 and we have published about 20 scientific articles together. The co-operation will give education within environmental medicine, environmental science and dietary aspects, with a focus on health studies in school and pre-school children. We will establish new large cohorts of school children and perform repeat studies in China (People's Republic of) to study trends in asthma, allergy and respiratory disease, and perform new studies in pre-school children and study the indoor environment in schools and day care centres. We will evaluate the biological properties (oxidative capacity) of airborne outdoor and indoor particles from different parts of China (People's Republic of). Moreover we will study effects of dietary pattern on asthma, allergy and respiratory disease in Chinese children, and study food allergy food intolerance, and study associations between phthalates and other hormone disrupting environmental contaminants in food, and asthma allergy and respiratory disease, by analysing urine levels of chemical contaminants. Our co-operation will contribute to the increase of knowledge and skill in environmental epidemiology in China (People's Republic of), especially with respect to the environment in schools and day care centres but also the home environment, This will increase the possibility to work with primary prevention in this field. Moreover we will add new and important knowledge on important risk factors for asthma, allergy, food allergy and intolerance, and respiratory disease in Chinese children. Thus our project has important relevance both from a scientific and epidemiological point of view and as a contribution to the primary prevention work in China (People's Republic of). There is a significant indoor and outdoor air pollution in China (People's Republic of), and air pollution has the strongest impact on the poorer part of the population. Food safety is another important issue in China (People's Republic of), both because food allergy and chemical food contamination. The co-operation will give education within environmental medicine, environmental science and dietary aspects, with a focus on health studies in school and pre-school children. We will establish new large cohorts of school children and perform repeat studies in China (People's Republic of) to study trends in asthma, allergy and respiratory disease, and perform new studies in pre-school children and study the indoor environment in schools and day care centres. We will evaluate the biological properties (oxidative capacity) of airborne outdoor and indoor particles from different parts of China (People's Republic of). Moreover we will study effects of dietary pattern on asthma, allergy and respiratory disease in Chinese children, and study food allergy food intolerance, and study associations between phthalates and other hormone disrupting environmental contaminants in food, and asthma allergy and respiratory disease, by analysing urine levels of chemical contaminants. This will contribute to the knowledge and skill in environmental epidemiology in China (People's Republic of), especially with respect to the environment in schools and day care centres but also the home environment, and add new and important knowledge on risk factors for asthma, allergy, and respiratory disease in China (People's Republic of).