Association between PM2.5 and all-cause and specific-cause mortality in 27 US communities

Abstract

While fine mode particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) forms the basis for regulating particles in the US and other countries, there is a serious paucity of large population-based studies of its acute effect on mortality. To address this issue, we examined the association between PM 2.5 and both all-cause and specificcause mortality using over 1.3 million deaths in 27 US communities between 1997 and 2002. A two-stage approach was used. First, the association between PM 2.5 and mortality in each community was quantified using a case-crossover design. Second, meta-analysis was used to estimate a summary effect over all 27 communities. Effect modification of age and gender was examined using interaction terms in the case-crossover model, while effect modification of community-specific characteristics including geographic location, annual PM 2.5 concentration above 15 mg/m 3 and central air conditioning prevalence was examined using meta-regression. We observed a 1.21% (95% CI 0.29, 2.14%) increase in all-cause mortality, a 1.78% (95% CI 0.20, 3.36%) increase in respiratory related mortality and a 1.03% (95% CI 0.02, 2.04%) increase in stroke related mortality with a 10 mg/m 3 increase in previous day's PM 2.5 . The magnitude of these associations is more than triple that recently reported for PM 10 , suggesting that combustion and traffic related particles are more toxic than larger sized particles. Effect modification occurred in all-cause and specific-cause deaths with greater effects in subjects Z75 years of age. There was suggestive evidence that women may be more susceptible to PM 2.5 effects than men, and that effects were larger in the East than in the West. Increased prevalence of central air conditioning was associated with a decreased effect of PM 2.5 . Our findings describe the magnitude of the effect on all-cause and specific-cause mortality, the modifiers of this association, and suggest that PM 2.5 may pose a public health risk even at or below current ambient levels.

Estimating the global abundance of ground level presence of particulate matter (PM2.5)

“…Currently, long-term values are not available in many localities and in many instances, PM 2.5 values are estimated from PM 10 for long-term HIA (Boldo et al, 2011). Studies also suggest that even low-level PM 2.5 exposure can contribute to serious health impacts (Pope et al, 2006;Franklin et al, 2007;Crouse et al, 2012;Cesaroni et al, 2014). We have already created daily global estimates of PM 2.5 with an associated uncertainty for more than 13 years providing an appropriate dataset for extended cohort studies for the areas with both high and mid-level concentrations of ambient PM 2.5 .…”

The benefits of whole-house in-duct air cleaning in reducing exposures to fine particulate matter of outdoor origin: A modeling analysis

“…Air conditioning use is likely associated with lower air exchange rates, and therefore lower infiltration of PM 2.5 into homes compared to natural ventilation. The prevalence of air conditioning in a community appears to modify the health risks of ambient PM 2.5 on a population scale (Janssen et al, 2002;Franklin et al, 2007). In the study by Janssen et al (2002), data on cardiovascular disease and PM was analyzed for 14 communities in the US.…”

The Use of Levoglucosan and Radiocarbon for Source Apportionment of PM2.5Carbonaceous Aerosols at a Background Site in East China

“…Moreover, these aerosols can cause respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. 5 Carbonaceous aerosols can be classified as organic carbon (OC) or elemental carbon (EC). In general, EC is a primary pollutant derived exclusively from the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels and biomass burning, whereas OC is a complex mixture of primary and secondary organic aerosols (POA and SOA, respectively).…”