Abstract
In the Oinofita region, there was strong evidence of air pollution and hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI))-contaminated drinking water due to the increased number of industries, in contrast to the closely-located region of Arachova, which served as a control. To examine the health effects of environmental pollution, we performed an ecological study to compare the all-cause and cause-specific mortality. We considered the registered citizens of both study areas during an 11-year period (1999-2009) and we used the direct method of standardization to calculate the age, gender and period standardized rates (ASRs) and the standardized rate ratios (SRRs), using the greater Prefecture of Voiotia as the standard population. Statistically significantly higher rates of all-cause mortality (SRR = 1.22, 95% confidence intervals (CI) 1.1-1.4), cardiovascular (SRR = 1.36, 95% CI 1.1-1.7) and cerebrovascular diseases (SRR = 2.93, 95% CI 1.8-4.8) were identified for Oinofita compared to Arachova. Furthermore, suggestive results were found for cardiopulmonary diseases among males (SRR = 1.52, 95% CI 1.0-2.4) and leukaemias (SRR = 4.65, 95% CI 0.9-25.3). Elevated SRRs, not statistically significant though, were also observed for respiratory diseases, all cancers and specific cancer sites (lip, oral cavity and pharynx, liver, stomach, pancreas, lung, prostate, colon and kidney and other genitourinary organs among females). Increased mortality rates in the Oinofita region support the hypothesis of adverse health effects association with air pollution and Cr(VI)-contaminated drinking water. Further studies are needed to determine if this association is causal and to establish preventive guidelines and public health recommendations.
Highlights
It is generally recognized that human mortality increases in industrialized areas due to the hazardous waste released into soil, groundwater and air (Mudu, Terracini, & Martuzzi, 2014)
This study was focused on the municipality of Oinofita, one of the rare areas worldwide, where population has been exposed to hexavalent chromium Cr(VI) through drinking water due to dense industrial activity (Linos et al, 2011)
We found that citizens residing in the industrial area of Oinofita had significantly increased risk of death from all-cause (SRR = 1.22, 95% confidence intervals (CI) 1.1-1.4), natural cause excluding accidents
Summary
It is generally recognized that human mortality increases in industrialized areas due to the hazardous waste released into soil, groundwater and air (Mudu, Terracini, & Martuzzi, 2014). To investigate the potential health effects of such an environmental pollution, we decided to compare the cause-specific mortality rates of the municipality of Oinofita to those of the municipality of Arachova, an environmentally clean area in the same prefecture and with similar demographic and socioeconomic characteristics with Oinofita. Several epidemiological studies examined the relationship between residential proximity either to industrial plants or hazardous waste sites and all-cause mortality, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases and specific cancer sites such as lung and leukaemias. It was shown that populations residing in industrialized areas had significantly increased mortality from lung cancer compared to populations residing in non-industrialized areas their similar socioeconomic characteristics
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