Particulate matter and ozone might trigger deaths from chronic ischemic heart disease

Abstract

AimsTo study the association between short-term exposure to air pollutants and mortality of Chronic Ischemic Heart Disease (CIHD). MethodsUsing a case-crossover design, we investigated 148,443 CIHD deaths from 2015 to 2020 in Jiangsu Province, China. Exposure to six ambient pollutants, including PM10, PM2.5, NO2, CO, SO2, and O3, was assessed by extracting daily concentrations from validated 10 km × 10 km pollutant grids at each subject’s residential address. A conditional logistic regression approach was used to explore the exposure-response relationship with adjustment for temperature and relative humidity. We calculated the Population Attributable Fractions (PAFs) and the attributable deaths number of CIHD. ResultsAn increase of 10 μg/m3 in PM10 and PM2.5 exposure was associated with a 1.16% (95% CI: 0.85–1.48%) and 1.80% (1.36–2.24%) increase in CIHD mortality, respectively. A threshold value of 123 µg/m3 was identified for the association between O3 exposure and CIHD mortality. Controlling for PM2.5, each increase of 10 µg/m3 in O3 (>threshold) was statistically significantly associated with a 0.94% (0.19–1.71%) increase in CIHD mortality, however there was no association between NO2, SO2, CO exposure and CIHD mortality. Reducing PM2.5, PM10 and O3 to the WHO air quality guidelines would prevent 6.16% (95% CI: 4.70–7.58%), 4.30% (3.18–5.43%) and 1.29% (0.48–4.20%) of CIHD deaths, respectively. During the warm season, mortality and PAFs of CIHD associated with PM2.5, PM10, and O3 were significantly higher. ConclusionsShort-term exposure to ambient PM2.5, PM10, and O3 might trigger deaths from CIHD. These findings indicate that the premature deaths of CIHD patients can be alleviated by reducing exposure to polluted air.