Fine particulate air pollution and its components in association with cause-specific emergency admissions

Abstract

BackgroundAlthough the association between exposure to particulate matter and health is well established, there remains uncertainty as to whether certain chemical components are more harmful than others. We explored whether the association between cause-specific hospital admissions and PM2.5 was modified by PM2.5 chemical composition.MethodsWe estimated the association between daily PM2.5 and emergency hospital admissions for cardiac causes (CVD), myocardial infarction (MI), congestive heart failure (CHF), respiratory disease, and diabetes in 26 US communities, for the years 2000-2003. Using meta-regression, we examined how this association was modified by season- and community-specific PM2.5 composition, controlling for seasonal temperature as a surrogate for ventilation.ResultsFor a 10 μg/m3 increase in 2-day averaged PM2.5 concentration we found an increase of 1.89% (95% CI: 1.34- 2.45) in CVD, 2.25% (95% CI: 1.10- 3.42) in MI, 1.85% (95% CI: 1.19- 2.51) in CHF, 2.74% (95% CI: 1.30- 4.2) in diabetes, and 2.07% (95% CI: 1.20- 2.95) in respiratory admissions. The association between PM2.5 and CVD admissions was significantly modified when the mass was high in Br, Cr, Ni, and Na+, while mass high in As, Cr, Mn, OC, Ni, and Na+ modified MI, and mass high in As, OC, and SO42- modified diabetes admissions. For these species, an interquartile range increase in their relative proportion was associated with a 1-2% additional increase in daily admissions per 10 μg/m3 increase in mass.ConclusionsWe found that PM2.5 mass higher in Ni, As, and Cr, as well as Br and OC significantly increased its effect on hospital admissions. This result suggests that particles from industrial combustion sources and traffic may, on average, have greater toxicity.

A systematic review of the physical and chemical characteristics of pollutants from biomass burning and combustion of fossil fuels and health effects in Brazil

“…In the state of Minas Gerais, in the cities of Ouro Preto and Sete Lagoas, particles showed high concentrations of metals due to the presence of mining and industry sources, but these results were not related to health effects 97,111 . In a recent study by Zanobetti et al 112 , the mass of PM 2.5 showed high concentrations of arsenic, nickel, chromium and bromine which were associated with increased hospital admissions in elderly residents in 26 cities in the United States.…”

“…Several epidemiological studies have associated daily levels of these pollutants with cardiopulmonary effects 49,55,70 . Research on exposure to multipollutants has been widely conducted with respect to PM and the adverse health effects associated with constituents of particulate mass 5,67,112 . However, adverse effects from simultaneous exposure to all these pollutants have gained little attention in Brazil.…”

Public Value of Enforcing the PM2.5 Concentration Reduction Policy in South Korean Urban Areas

“…Furthermore, at the same concentration, PM 2.5 has a larger surface area than PM 10 , thus it can adsorb more harmful substances. The findings from some studies indicate that long-term exposure areas must limit outdoor activities and room ventilation when a warning is triggered.…”

“…PM 2.5 is more dangerous than PM 10 because it easily penetrates deep into a human body. PM 2.5 can reach the alveoli through the nose and airways during breathing, and it can infiltrate the blood vessels and cause inflammation [7,8].…”

Differential DNA methylation and PM2.5 species in a 450K epigenome-wide association study

“…1 Nationwide and multiple-community studies report that exposure to PM 2.5 is linked with an increased risk of hospital admissions and mortality in the US, and that certain PM 2.5 species may be more toxic than others. [2][3][4][5] DNA methylation is an epigenetic process in which a methyl group is added to deoxycytosine bases to form deoxymethylcytosine. The literature to date indicates that DNA methylation may be an important pathway linking particulate matter (PM) to health outcomes.…”