Time-Series Analysis of Air Pollution and Cause Specific Mortality

Abstract

To investigate whether factors influencing ovarian function affect risk of uterine leiomyomata, we examined prospectively the association of new diagnoses confirmed by ultrasound or hysterectomy with body mass index, weight change, height, and cigarette smoking among 94,095 premenopausal women with intact uteri, who were ages 25-42 years at the start of follow-up in 1989. We assessed body mass index and cigarette smoking from responses on the study questionnaire completed just before diagnosis. During 322,775 person-years, 2,967 new cases of uterine leiomyomata confirmed by ultrasound or hysterectomy were reported. Risk among all cases confirmed by ultrasound or hysterectomy increased with increasing adult body mass index. The multivariate relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) according to body mass index categories of <20.0, 20.0-21.9, 22.0-23.9, 24.0-25.9, 26.0-27.9, 28.0-29.9, and > or =30.0 were 0.90 (95% CI = 0.79-1.03), 1.00 (referent), 1.08 (95% CI = 0.97-1.21), 1.16 (95% CI = 1.03-1.31), 1.21 (95% CI = 1.05-1.40), 1.36 (95% CI = 1.16-1.59), and 1.23 (95% CI = 1.09-1.39), respectively. The RRs for hysterectomy-confirmed cases generally were higher. Similarly, risk was positively associated with weight gain since age 18 years. Body mass index at age 18 years, height, and cigarette smoking were unrelated to risk of uterine leiomyomata. Elevated adult body mass index is associated with a modest increased risk of uterine leiomyomata among premenopausal women.

Associations between ambient air pollution and daily emergency department attendances for cardiovascular disease in the elderly (65+ years), Sydney, Australia

“…Our findings are corroborated by studies that have investigated effects on other CVD outcomes, for example, hospital admissions and mortality. Internationally, ambient air pollutants have been associated with both hospital admissions for CVD (Ponka and Virtanen, 1996;Schwartz, 1999;Pope, 2000;Morris, 2001;Koken et al, 2003;Tsai et al, 2003) and mortality from CVD (Zmirou et al, 1998;Pope, 2000;Kwon et al, 2001;Hong et al, 2002).…”

Transport impacts on atmosphere and climate: Land transport

“…Land transport and in particular road transport has a considerable negative influence on air quality. Evidence on health impacts of air pollution has been gathered through numerous studies conducted by scientists of various disciplines and published since the late 1980s (Pope, 1989(Pope, , 2000Pope et al, 1995Pope et al, , 2002Brunekreef et al, 1995;Brunekreef and Holgate, 2002;Brunekreef and Forsberg, 2005;Zmirou et al, 1998;Ję drychowski, 2000;Nyberg et al, 2000;Schwartz, 2000;Peters et al, 2000Peters et al, , 2001Katsouyanni et al, 2001;Hoek et al, 2002;Leikauf, 2002;Brook et al, 2004;Boldo et al, 2006;Naess et al, 2007). The results of such studies have been condensed and comprehensively evaluated in several WHO publications (WHO, 2000(WHO, , 2002(WHO, , 2005a and in relation to land transport impacts in WHO (2003); Krzyzanowski et al (2005) and WHO (2006).…”

Interim results of the study of particulates and health in Atlanta (SOPHIA)

“…A number of epidemiologic studies have shown a positive association between ambient levels of particulate matter ( PM) and various cardiorespiratory outcomes using mortality, hospital admissions, and emergency department ( ED ) admissions data (e.g., Thurston et al, 1994;Pope, 1996;Lipsett et al, 1997;Poloniecki et al, 1997;Schwartz, 1997;Schwartz et al, 1993Schwartz et al, , 1996Prescott et al, 1998;Zmirou et al, 1998;Burnett et al, 1999;Tolbert et al, 2000;see USEPA, 1996 for review ). Because PM is a heterogeneous mixture that varies in composition temporally and spatially, there is a need to identify agents within this mixture that may be responsible for the observed associations.…”