Effects of air pollutants on acute stroke mortality.

Abstract

The relationship between stroke and air pollution has not been adequately studied. We conducted a time-series study to examine the evidence of an association between air pollutants and stroke over 4 years (January 1995-December 1998) in Seoul, Korea. We used a generalized additive model to regress daily stroke death counts for each pollutant, controlling for seasonal and long-term trends and meteorologic influences, such as temperature, relative humidity, and barometric pressure. We observed an estimated increase of 1.5% [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.3-1.8%] and 2.9% (95% CI, 0.3-5.5%) in stroke mortality for each interquartile range increase in particulate matter < 10 microm aerodynamic diameter (PM(10)) and ozone concentrations in the same day. Stroke mortality also increased 3.1% (95% CI, 1.1-5.1%) for nitrogen dioxide, 2.9% (95% CI, 0.8-5.0%) for sulfur dioxide, and 4.1% (95% CI, 1.1-7.2%) for carbon monoxide in a 2-day lag for each interquartile range increase in single-pollutant models. When we examined the associations among PM(10) levels stratified by the level of gaseous pollutants and vice versa, we found that these pollutants are interactive with respect to their effects on the risk of stroke mortality. We also observed that the effects of PM(10) on stroke mortality differ significantly in subgroups by age and sex. We conclude that PM(10) and gaseous pollutants are significant risk factors for acute stroke death and that the elderly and women are more susceptible to the effect of particulate pollutants.

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

“…Associations between PM 10 and stroke deaths have been found (Hong et al, 2002;Zeka et al, 2005), and a recent epidemiological study attributed a significant increase in ischemic stroke hospital admissions to an increase in PM 10 concentrations (Wellenius et al, 2005). Three possible mechanisms including induced systemic inflammatory response, changes in hemostatic factors, and decreased heart rate variability were suggested for this finding.…”

Evidence for an Association Between Air Pollution and Daily Stroke Admissions in Kaohsiung, Taiwan

“…45,46 These findings suggest hemodynamic disturbances that may lead to an increased risk of cardiovascular events and an increased risk of other types of circulatory events such as stroke. 22 Exposure to high temperatures has also been found to increase plasma viscosity and serum cholesterol levels. 47,48 During the onset of heat stroke in experimental animals exposed to very high temperatures, increased intracranial hypertension and cerebral ischemia have been reported.…”

“…Two studies conducted in Seoul, Korea, have shown that commonly measured pollutants (O 3 , SO 2 , NO 2 , CO, PM 10 ) are all significantly associated with stroke mortality. 22,23 In a study conducted in the Netherlands, 24 gaseous air pollutants (O 3 , CO, SO 2 ) were found to be significantly associated with stroke mortality. In Hong Kong, however, none of 4 pollutants (SO 2 , NO 2 , O 3 , PM 10 ) studied were found to be significantly associated with stroke mortality.…”

Prediction of ultrafine particle number concentrations in urban environments by means of Gaussian process regression based on measurements of oxides of nitrogen

“…Jacobs et al (2010) and Bos et al (2011) have shown that even brief exposure of healthy people to traffic UFP seems to induce some health effects. Moreover, those particles may also cause cardio-vascular damage (de Hartog et al, 2003) and could cause brain stroke when penetrating into the bloodstream and being transported to other organs (Hong et al, 2002).…”