Mortality and Emergency room visits Associated with Particulate Matter Constituents in Metropolitan Taipei

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the short-term effects of daily concentrations of PM10, PM2.5, and constituents on mortality of elder population and emergency room visits (ERV) of all ages population in Taipei, Taiwan. METHODS: This study uses a distributed lag non-linear model with Poisson distribution to estimate the cumulative 6-day (lags 0–5) relative risks (RRs) and confidence intervals (CIs) of mortality from and ERV of all causes, circulatory diseases, and respiratory diseases associated with daily concentrations of PM10, PM2.5, as well as constituents (organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), nitrate, and sulfate). RESULTS: Emergency room visits were more associated with concentrations of PM and its constituent, and the risk estimates were similar for PM10 and PM2.5. An increase in PM2.5 from 5 μg/m3 to 30 μg/m3 was associated with increased ERV risk of all causes and respiratory diseases with cumulative 6-day RR of 1.12 (95% CI: 1.06, 1.18) and 1.27 (95% CI: 1.10, 1.46), respectively. All-cause mortality significantly associated with concentrations of nitrate (RR=1.12 (95% CI: 1.02, 1.23) at 1 μg/m3), and mortality from circulatory diseases significantly associated with concentrations of sulfate (RR=1.31 (95% CI: 1.12, 1.54) at 7 μg/m3). All-cause ERV significantly associated with concentrations of OC (RR=1.03 (95% CI: 1.00, 1.06) at 1 μg/m3), EC (RR=1.08 (95% CI: 1.05, 1.12) at 2 μg/m3), nitrate higher than 6 μg/m3, and sulfate higher than 20 μg/m3. Conclusions: This study suggests the constituents of PM should be regularly investigated and evaluated related health effects, and considered in air quality management.