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PubMed1996

Air pollution and mortality in Valencia, Spain: a study using the APHEA methodology.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To assess the short term relationship between daily air pollution indicators (black smoke and sulphur dioxide (SO2)) and mortality in Valencia. DESIGN: This was an ecological study using time series data with application of Poisson regression. Daily variations in four selected outcome variables (total mortality, mortality in those over 70 years of age, and cardiovascular and respiratory mortality) were considered in relation to daily variations in air pollution levels for the period 1991-93. SETTING: The city of Valencia, Spain. MAIN RESULTS: The mean daily mortality was 17.5, and the average daily levels of air pollutants from the three monitoring stations included in the study were, 67.7 micrograms/m3 for black smoke, and 39.9 micrograms/ m3 for SO2. A significant positive association between black smoke and three of the four outcomes in the study was found. The estimated relative risk (RR) of dying corresponding to a 10 micrograms/m3 increase in mean daily black smoke over the whole period was 1.009 (95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.003, 1.015). For mortality in the group aged more than 70 years and for cardiovascular mortality, the RRs were 1.008 (95% CI: 1.001, 1.016) and 1.012 (95% CI: 1.003, 1.022) respectively. The association with SO2 was less clear: it was only evident during the warm season. The estimated RRs in this case were 1.007 (95% CI: 0.999, 1.015) for total mortality, 1.009 (95% CI: 1.00, 1.21) for total mortality in those older than 70, and 1.012 (95% CI: 0.995, 1.026) for cardiovascular deaths. No significant association was found between mortality from respiratory diseases and either of the two pollutants. CONCLUSIONS: A positive relationship between air pollution and mortality was found in the short term, as has been shown in an important number of studies carried out elsewhere. Although the current levels of particulate air pollution in Valencia are not very high, they could have an effect on the number of premature deaths. Despite the fact that the association is weak, it is important at the public health level both because of the numbers of population exposed and the possibility of establishing control measures.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Air pollution and mortality in Barcelona.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Studies conducted in Barcelona reported a short term relation between daily air pollutant values and emergency department admissions for exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases and asthma. Air pollution in Barcelona is mainly generated by vehicle exhaust and is below the World Health Organization air quality guidelines. The acute relation between air pollution and mortality was assessed. DESIGN: Daily variations in total mortality, mortality in subjects older than 70 years, and cardiovascular and respiratory mortality were related with daily variations in air pollutants for the period 1985-91, using autoregressive Poisson regression models that allow to control for temperature, relative humidity and variables handling temporal and autoregressive patterns. MAIN RESULTS: Black smoke and sulphur dioxide (SO2) were related to total mortality (relative risks (RR) for 100 micrograms/m3 = 1.07 and 1.13 respectively), elderly mortality (RR = 1.06 and 1.13), cardiovascular mortality (RR = 1.09 and 1.14), and respiratory mortality (RR = 1.10 and 1.13); all the associations being statistically significant, except for respiratory mortality (p = 0.07). The association between SO2 and respiratory mortality was stronger in summer (1.24, p < 0.01) than in winter (1.08, p > 0.1). Oxidant pollutants (nitrogen dioxide and ozone) were positively related with elderly mortality (RR = 1.05 and 1.09, respectively) and cardiovascular mortality (RR = 1.07 and 1.09) during the summer (p < 0.05), but not during the winter. CONCLUSIONS: Current air pollutant levels were related to mortality in Barcelona. These results were consistent with similar studies in other cities and coherent with previous studies with emergency room admissions in Barcelona.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1998

Comparison between two districts of the effects of an air pollution intervention on bronchial responsiveness in primary school children in Hong Kong.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: This study examined the impact on children's respiratory health of a government air quality intervention that restricted the sulphur content of fuels to 0.5% from July 1990 onwards. DESIGN/SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: This study examined the changes, one and two years after the introduction of the intervention, in airway hyperreactivity of non-asthmatic and non-wheezing, primary 4, 5, and 6, school children aged 9-12 years living in a polluted district compared with those in a less polluted district. Bronchial hyperreactivity (BHR)(a 20% decrease in FEV1 provoked by a cumulative dose of histamine less than 7.8 mumol) and bronchial reactivity slope (BR slope) (percentage change in logarithmic scale in FEV1 per unit dose of histamine) were used to estimate responses to a histamine challenge. The between districts differences after the intervention were studied to assess the effectiveness of the intervention. MAIN RESULTS: In cohorts, comparing measurements made before the intervention and one year afterwards, both BHR and BR slope declined from 29% to 16% (p = 0.026) and from 48 to 39 (p = 0.075) respectively in the polluted district; and from 21% to 10% (p = 0.001) and 42 to 36 (p > 0.100) in the less polluted district. Comparing measurements made in 1991 (one year after intervention) with those in 1992 (two years after intervention), only the polluted district showed a significant decline from 28% to 12% (p = 0.016) and from 46 to 35 (p = 0.014), for BHR and BR slope respectively, with a greater decline in both responses (p = 0.018 and 0.073) than in the less polluted district. CONCLUSION: Bronchial hyperresponsiveness tests can be used to support the evaluation of an air quality intervention. The demonstrated reduction in bronchial hyperresponsiveness is an indication of the effectiveness of the intervention.

Air Pollutants↗
PubMed2001

Air pollution and emergency hospital admissions for cardiovascular diseases in Valencia, Spain.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To estimate the short-term association between air pollution levels and emergency hospital admissions for cardiovascular diseases in Valencia, within 1994-1996 period. DESIGN: Daily levels of air pollution and emergency admissions for cardiovascular diseases were related to using an ecological time series design. The number of admissions was obtained from the hospital records database. Selected groups of causes were all cardiovascular diseases, heart admissions, and admissions for cerebrovascular diseases. The number of admissions for digestive diseases was used as control. Pollutants were black smoke, sulphur dioxide (SO(2)), nitrogen dioxide (NO(2)), carbon monoxide (CO) and ozone (O(3)). Magnitude of association was estimated by Poisson autoregressive regression. Estimations were calculated according the hottest (May to October) and the coldest (November to April) periods. SETTING: City of Valencia, Spain, about 750,000 inhabitants. PARTICIPANTS: People being admitted to the two major hospitals in the city, with a catchment area of nearly 400,000 inhabitants. MAIN RESULTS: For the whole period, a significant association for SO(2)-24 h was found so a rise in its levels of 10 microg/m(3) was associated with an increment of 3% (95%CI 0.4 to 5.7%) in the expected number of cardiovascular admissions. A significant association for black smoke, SO(2)-24 h, SO(2)-1 h, and CO-1 h was found in the hottest semester. All these associations were verified with a lag of two days. The estimates of the associations for particles, SO(2), and CO were affected by the inclusion of the other pollutants in their models. NO(2) was independently associated with cerebrovascular admissions. There were no significant associations between air pollution and admissions for digestive diseases. CONCLUSIONS: Current levels of air pollution and emergency cardiovascular admissions are significantly related in Valencia.

Air Pollutants↗
PubMed2005

Exposure to traffic related air pollutants: self reported traffic intensity versus GIS modelled exposure.

BACKGROUND: In epidemiological studies of the potential health effects of traffic related air pollution, self reported traffic intensity is a commonly used, but rarely validated, exposure variable. METHODS: As part of a study on the impact of Traffic Related Air Pollution on Childhood Asthma (TRAPCA), data from 2633 and 673 infants from the Dutch and the German-Munich cohorts, respectively, were available. Parents subjectively assessed traffic intensity at the home address. Objective exposures were estimated by a combination of spatial air pollution measurements and geographic information system (GIS) based modelling using an identical method for both cohorts. RESULTS: The agreement rates between self reported and GIS modelled exposure--accumulated over the three strata of self assessed traffic intensity--were 55-58% for PM(2.5), filter absorbance (PM(2.5) abs), and nitrogen dioxide in Munich and 39-40% in the Netherlands. Of the self reported low traffic exposed group, 71-73% in Munich and 45-47% in the Netherlands had low modelled exposure to these three air pollutants. Of the self assessed high exposed subgroups in Munich (15% of the total population) and the Netherlands (22% of the total population), only 22-33% and 30-32% respectively had high modelled exposure to the three air pollutants. The subjective assessments tend to overestimate the modelled estimates for PM(2.5) and NO2 in both study areas. When analysis was restricted to the portion of the Dutch cohort living in non-urban areas, the agreement rates were even lower. CONCLUSIONS: Self reported and modelled assessment of exposure to air pollutants are only weakly associated.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Association between hospital emergency visits for asthma and air pollution in Valencia, Spain.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the short term effect of concentrations of black smoke, sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and ozone (O3) in ambient air on emergency room visits for asthma in the city of Valencia, Spain during the period 1994-5. METHODS: Ecological study with time series data and application of Poisson regression. Associations between number of daily emergency visits in a city's hospital and concentrations of air pollutants were analysed taking into account potential confounding factors by the standardised protocol of the air pollution and health: a European approach (APHEA) project. RESULTS: Mean (range) daily number of emergency room visits for asthma was 1 (0-5). Concentrations of all pollutants studied remained within current air quality standards. The association between an increase of 10 micrograms/m3 in ambient air pollution and asthma, measured as a relative risk (RR) of emergency visits, was significant for NO2 24 hour mean (lag 0, RR 1.076, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.020 to 1.134), NO2 hour maximum (lag 0, RR 1.037, 95% CI 1.008 to 1.066), and O3 hour maximum (lag 1, RR 1.063, CI 95% 1.014 to 1.114). The association was not significant for SO2 or for black smoke during the period analysed. The effects were not significantly different for the time of year, cold months (November to April), or warm months (May to October). CONCLUSIONS: Current concentrations of ambient air pollution in Valencia are significantly associated with emergency room visits for asthma. This association is high and more consistent for NO2 and O3 than for particulate matter and SO2 (classic pollutants).

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Reduced levels of alpha-1-antitrypsin in children exposed to high levels of air pollution.

Health risks associated with environmental pollution, particularly in Eastern Europe, are a cause for concern. In order to gain some insight into the effects of exposure to high levels of air pollution particularly by heavy metals, we measured the concentration of nine plasma proteins in plasma samples from newborn babies and 5- to 6-year old children living in heavily polluted areas of Poland, as well as from some newborns and adults from unpolluted areas of Poland and control samples within the local Southampton population. The concentrations of all proteins measured were in or close to their expected range, with the exception of alpha 1-antitrypsin (alpha 1AT). The concentration of this protein was lower in both groups of Polish children from the polluted areas, particularly in the 5- to 6-year old group. These children were shown to be phenotypically normal. Since adult levels of alpha 1AT are usually reached within 2 weeks postpartum, these findings raise the possibility that continued exposure to high levels of pollution may lead to reduced levels of alpha 1AT in plasma; this may compound the impairment of lung function in children living in highly polluted areas.

Air Pollutants↗
PubMed2004

Outdoor air pollution and stroke in Sheffield, United Kingdom: a small-area level geographical study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Current evidence suggests that stroke mortality and hospital admissions should be higher in areas with elevated levels of outdoor air pollution because of the combined acute and chronic exposure effects of air pollution. We examined this hypothesis using a small-area level ecological correlation study. METHODS: We used 1030 census enumeration districts as the unit of analysis and examined stroke deaths and hospital admissions from 1994 to 1998, with census denominator counts for people > or =45 years. Modeled air pollution data for particulate matter (PM10), nitrogen oxides (NO(x)), and carbon monoxide (CO) were interpolated to census enumeration districts. We adjusted for age, sex, socioeconomic deprivation, and smoking prevalence. RESULTS: The analysis was based on 2979 deaths, 5122 admissions, and a population of 199 682. After adjustment for potential confounders, stroke mortality was 37% (95% CI, 19 to 57), 33% (95% CI, 14 to 56), and 26% (95% CI, 10 to 46) higher in the highest, relative to the lowest, NO(x), PM10, and CO quintile categories, respectively. Corresponding increases in risk for admissions were 13% (95% CI, 1 to 27), 13% (95% CI, -1 to 29), and 11% (95% CI, -1 to 25). CONCLUSIONS: The results are consistent with an excess risk of stroke mortality and, to a lesser extent, hospital admissions in areas with high outdoor air pollution levels. If causality were assumed, 11% of stroke deaths would have been attributable to outdoor air pollution. Targeting policy interventions at high pollution areas may be a feasible option for stroke prevention.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2003

Prospective study of air pollution and bronchitic symptoms in children with asthma.

The relationship of bronchitic symptoms to ambient particulate matter and to particulate elemental and organic carbon (OC), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and other gaseous pollutants was examined in a cohort of children with asthma in 12 Southern California communities. Symptoms, assessed yearly by questionnaire from 1996 to 1999, were associated with the yearly variability of particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 microg (odds ratio [OR] 1.09/microg/m3; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01-1.17), OC (OR 1.41/microg/m3; 95% CI 1.12-1.78), NO2 (OR 1.07/ppb; 95% CI 1.02-1.13), and ozone (OR 1.06/ppb; 95% CI 1.00-1.12). The ORs associated with yearly within-community variability in air pollution were larger than the effect of the between-community 4-year average concentrations. In two pollutant models, the effects of yearly variation in OC and NO2 were only modestly reduced by adjusting for other pollutants, except in a model containing both OC and NO2; the effects of all other pollutants were reduced after adjusting for OC or NO2. We conclude that OC and NO2 deserve greater attention as potential causes of the chronic symptoms of bronchitis in children with asthma and that previous cross-sectional studies may have underestimated the risks associated with air pollution.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Short-term associations between outdoor air pollution and visits to accident and emergency departments in London for respiratory complaints.

Many epidemiological studies have shown positive short-term associations between health and current levels of outdoor air pollution. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between air pollution and the number of visits to accident and emergency (A&E) departments in London for respiratory complaints. A&E visits include the less severe cases of acute respiratory disease and are unrestricted by bed availability. Daily counts of visits to 12 London A&E departments for asthma, other respiratory complaints, and both combined for a number of age groups were constructed from manual registers of visits for the period 1992-1994. A Poisson regression allowing for seasonal patterns, meteorological conditions and influenza epidemics was used to assess the associations between the number of visits and six pollutants: nitrogen dioxide, ozone, sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and particles measured as black smoke (BS) and particles with a median aerodynamic diameter of <10 microm (PM10). After making an allowance for the multiplicity of tests, there remained strong associations between visits for all respiratory complaints and increases in SO2: a 2.8% (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.7-4.9) increase in the number of visits for a 18 microg x (-3) increase (10th-90th percentile range) and a 3.0% (95% CI 0.8-5.2) increase for a 31 microg x m(-3) increase in PM10. There were also significant associations between visits for asthma and SO2, NO2 and PM10. No significant associations between O3 and any of the respiratory complaints investigated were found. Because of the strong correlation between pollutants, it was difficult to identify a single pollutant responsible for the associations found in the analyses. This study suggests that the levels of air pollution currently experienced in London are linked to short-term increases in the number of people visiting accident and emergency departments with respiratory complaints.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Decline of ambient air pollution levels and improved respiratory health in Swiss children.

The causality of observed associations between air pollution and respiratory health in children is still subject to debate. If reduced air pollution exposure resulted in improved respiratory health of children, this would argue in favor of a causal relation. We investigated whether a rather moderate decline of air pollution levels in the 1990s in Switzerland was associated with a reduction in respiratory symptoms and diseases in school children. In nine Swiss communities, 9,591 children participated in cross-sectional health assessments between 1992 and 2001. Their parents completed identical questionnaires on health status and covariates. We assigned to each child an estimate of regional particles with an aerodynamic diameter < 10 microg/m3 (PM10) and determined change in PM10 since the first survey. Adjusted for socioeconomic, health-related, and indoor factors, declining PM10 was associated in logistic regression models with declining prevalence of chronic cough [odds ratio (OR) per 10-microg/m3 decline = 0.65, 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.54-0.79], bronchitis (OR = 0.66; 95% CI, 0.55-0.80), common cold (OR = 0.78; 95% CI, 0.68-0.89), nocturnal dry cough (OR = 0.70; 95% CI, 0.60-0.83), and conjunctivitis symptoms (OR = 0.81; 95% CI, 0.70-0.95). Changes in prevalence of sneezing during pollen season, asthma, and hay fever were not associated with the PM10 reduction. Our findings show that the reduction of air pollution exposures contributes to improved respiratory health in children. No threshold of adverse effects of PM10 was apparent because we observed the beneficial effects for relatively small changes of rather moderate air pollution levels. Current air pollution levels in Switzerland still exceed limit values of the Swiss Clean Air Act; thus, children's health can be improved further.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2007

Tobacco smoke, indoor air pollution and tuberculosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Tobacco smoking, passive smoking, and indoor air pollution from biomass fuels have been implicated as risk factors for tuberculosis (TB) infection, disease, and death. Tobacco smoking and indoor air pollution are persistent or growing exposures in regions where TB poses a major health risk. We undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis to quantitatively assess the association between these exposures and the risk of infection, disease, and death from TB. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies reporting effect estimates and 95% confidence intervals on how tobacco smoking, passive smoke exposure, and indoor air pollution are associated with TB. We identified 33 papers on tobacco smoking and TB, five papers on passive smoking and TB, and five on indoor air pollution and TB. We found substantial evidence that tobacco smoking is positively associated with TB, regardless of the specific TB outcomes. Compared with people who do not smoke, smokers have an increased risk of having a positive tuberculin skin test, of having active TB, and of dying from TB. Although we also found evidence that passive smoking and indoor air pollution increased the risk of TB disease, these associations are less strongly supported by the available evidence. CONCLUSIONS: There is consistent evidence that tobacco smoking is associated with an increased risk of TB. The finding that passive smoking and biomass fuel combustion also increase TB risk should be substantiated with larger studies in future. TB control programs might benefit from a focus on interventions aimed at reducing tobacco and indoor air pollution exposures, especially among those at high risk for exposure to TB.

Air Pollution, Indoor↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Air pollution, climate change and health].

Emissions into the atmosphere related to the climate change may further worsen the effects which air pollution has on the health of our citizens, not only indirectly due to the impact of weather phenomenon, but directly, due to the direct effects pollutants have on health. However, the efforts throughout most of the world have been aimed at dealing with these two problems separately for too many years. In fact, it is very often believed that the climate's health-safeguarding benefits would be achieved in the long term. To the contrary, what has become obvious over recent years is that the actions for reducing the emissions of polluting gases could redound in beneficial effects in the short term due to the reduction of the impact of air pollutants on the health of our citizens. This article presents the possible risks of the pollutants most closely related to climate changes, such as ozone and fine particles. Bearing in mind the uncertainties and unknowns related to this subject, the main implications for the policies related to this matter in Spain, as well as the needs for research are set out herein. In this regard, both from the standpoint of monitoring as well as research, it is considered necessary for an epidemiological monitoring system of the effects of air pollution and the relationship thereof to global changes to be established.

Air Pollutants↗
PubMed1998

Air pollution and daily mortality in Sydney, Australia, 1989 through 1993.

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the effects of outdoor air pollutants in Sydney, Australia, on daily mortality. METHODS: Time-series analysis was performed on counts of daily mortality and major outdoor air pollutants (particulates, ozone, and nitrogen dioxide) in Sydney (1989 to 1993) with adjustment for seasonal and cyclical factors. Poisson regression was calculated with allowance for overdispersion and autocorrelation. The effects of lagging exposure by 0 to 2 days were assessed with single- and multiple-pollutant models. RESULTS: An increase in daily mean particulate concentration from the 10th to the 90th centile was associated with an increase of 2.63% (95% confidence interval 0.87 to 4.41) in all-cause mortality and 2.68% (0.25 to 5.16) in cardiovascular mortality. An increase in daily maximum 1-hour ozone concentration from the 10th to the 90th centile was associated with an increase of 2.04% (0.37 to 3.73) in all-cause mortality and 2.52% (-0.25 to 5.38) in cardiovascular mortality. An increase in the daily mean nitrogen dioxide concentration from the 10th to the 90th centile was associated with an increase of 7.71% (-0.34 to 16.40) in respiratory mortality. Multiple-pollutant models suggest that the effects of particulates and ozone on all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, and of nitrogen dioxide on respiratory mortality, are independent of the effects of the other pollutants. CONCLUSIONS: Current levels of air pollution in Sydney are associated with daily mortality.

Air Pollutants↗
PubMed1999

Air pollution and daily mortality in Inchon, Korea.

The association between total daily mortality and air pollution was investigated for a 1-year period (January 1995 to December 1995) in Inchon, Korea. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relative importance of particulate and gaseous air pollution as predictors of daily mortality. Concentration of total suspended particulates (TSP), inhalable particles (PM10), and gaseous pollutants, such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, carbon monoxide, were measured daily during the study period. A generalized additive model was used to regress daily death counts on each air pollutant, controlling for time trend and meteorologic influences such as temperature or relative humidity. Total mortality was found to increase 1.2% (95% CI: 0.2 to 2.2%) for each 10 microg/m3 increase in 6-day moving average of TSP, and 1.2% (95% CI 0.2 to 2.1%) for each 10 microg/m3 increase in 5-day moving average of PM10. The association is similar in magnitude to associations between particulate air pollution and mortality found in several other communities in America and Europe. Associations with gaseous pollutants were all statistically insignificant in the generalized additive model. The relative risk of death increased at particulate levels that were well below the current Korean Ambient Air Quality Standard.

Air Pollutants↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Air pollution and its health impacts: the changing panorama.

Urban air pollution levels are associated with increased mortality and cardiorespiratory morbidity. These health effects occur even at exposure levels below those stipulated in current air-quality guidelines, and it is unclear whether a safe threshold exists. Air pollution in Australia and New Zealand comes primarily from motor vehicle emissions, electricity generation from fossil fuels, heavy industry, and home heating using wood and coal. In individual patients a direct link between symptoms and air pollution exposure may be difficult to establish and may not change their clinical management. However, avoiding exposure during periods of peak pollution may be beneficial. Although there is some evidence that urban air pollution in Australia and New Zealand has been decreasing (through reduced car use, improved emission-control technology and use of more energy-efficient devices in the household and in industry), pollution levels are still unsatisfactory. Further reductions may prevent hundreds of cardiorespiratory hospital admissions and deaths each year.

Air Pollutants↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[The short-term effects of air pollution on mortality: the results of the EMECAM project in 2 cities of Asturias. Estudio Multicéntrico Español sobre la Relación entre la Contaminación Atmosférica y la Mortalidad].

BACKGROUND: The studies conducted to date regarding the possibility that air pollutants, at levels considered safe to date, are capable of having impact are capable of having impact on human health have not led to homogeneous findings. This study is aimed at estimating the degrees of relationship between the daily levels of the pollutants and the death rate on a short-terms basis in the two most populated cities in Austria (Gijón and Oviedo), as well as contributing to increasing the statistical importance and the representative nature of the EMECAM Project, within which this study is comprised. METHODS: Ecological time series study, Estimate of degrees of group exposure based on the readings taken at the pollution control stations. Modeling of the death rate series, including control variables, by means of Poisson regression. Estimating risks related to each pollutant for the death rate, controlling the series-based autocorrelation. RESULTS: Throughout the 1993-1996 period, the pollution by means of particles in suspension and CO was greater in Gijón, that involving SO2 and NO2 having been greater in Oviedo. In these two cities, the levels can be considered to be low and to fall within what is considered admissible under the laws currently in impact. Most of the relative risk forecasts neared the zero impact point, although significant positive (especially for NO2) as well as negative relationships have been found to exist. The significant relationships found were not proven to be consistent in these two cities for the periods studied. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the findings of this study, the conclusion cannot be drawn that a clear-cut relationship exists between the pollutants studied (particles, SO2, NO2, CO) and the death rate on a short-term basis, at least at the levels detected in Gijón and Oviedo.

Air Pollutants↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[The short-term effects of air pollution on mortality: the results of the EMECAM project in the municipality of Madrid, 1992-1995. Estudio Multicéntrico Español sobre la Relación entre la Contaminación Atmosférica y la Mortalidad].

BACKGROUND: Despite the changes which have taken place in the sources of emissions, the levels of particles, SO2 and CO continue to be high in the municipality of Madrid. Apart from this, photochemical pollutants, such as NO2 and O3 are taking on growing importance due to the increased number of cars and trucks on the road and the major degrees of sunlight in this city. The objective of this article is to set out the short-term relationship between the major pollutants and the daily death rate in the city of Madrid for the 1992-1995 period, using the standardized procedure of the EMECAM Projects (Spanish Multicenter Study of Air Pollution and Death Rate). METHODS: The daily fluctuations in the death rate for all causes except external ones for all ages and for those individuals over age 69, in addition to those of the circulatory system and respiratory apparatus are related to the daily fluctuations in particles (PM10), SO2, NO2, CO and O3, by means of autoregressive Poisson regression models. The seasonality, tendency, temperature, relative humidity, flu, day of the week, holidays and events out of the ordinary are controlled. RESULTS: Statistically significant positive relationships were found to exist between SO2 and all of the death rate series analyzed, between CO and the death rate of individuals over age 69, as well as with cardiovascular and respiratory deaths and of the particles to the death rate as the result of cardiovascular disease. A statistically significant relationship was also found to exist between NO2 and the cardiovascular death rate. These impact are immediate, that is to say, they occur with the pollutants of the same day. No significant positive relationships were found to exist for O3. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that, for a broad spectrum of major pollutants, the current levels of air pollution in Madrid are related to a rise in the death rate.

Air Pollutants↗