Because time-series studies focus on a given geographic location over a number of years, factors that are often thought to influence the health of the population, such as percentage of smokers, income level, occupational exposure to pollutants, access to medical care and age distribution, do not need to be incorporated into the analysis as they are considered to remain relatively constant within the study area over time. Typically, the only other factors aside from pollution included in these models are weather variables and seasonal controls. In measuring the effects of air pollution, most attention has been focussed on particulates, especially those particles.
