Relationship between Air Pollutants and Mortality from Cardiorespiratory Diseases in Mashhad: A Step Towards Increasing Citizens’ Awareness of Adverse Effects of Pollutants

Abstract

Air pollution in different cities of the world is a complex mixture of toxic components, including particulate matter (PM), mainly produced by combustion processes. A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted to investigate the relationship between air pollutants and mortality from cardiorespiratory diseases in Mashhad. To this end, the data on mortality from cardiorespiratory diseases in 2012-2013 were obtained from Razavi Khorasan Health Organization. The mean daily concentration of air pollutants, including carbon monoxide (CO), PM with a diameter of 10 micrometers or less (PM10), and PM2.5 was calculated. The results of data analysis showed that there was a relationship between PM10 concentration and the rate of mortality from cardiovascular diseases in men. In addition, a significant relationship was observed between PM10 concentration and the rate of mortality from respiratory diseases in both men and women. The results indicated that there was a significant relationship between PM2.5 concentration and the rate of mortality from cardiorespiratory diseases in both men and women. There was also a significant relationship between CO concentration and the rate of mortality from respiratory diseases in women. The results demonstrated that PM2.5 has the greatest effect on mortality from cardiorespiratory diseases. The study findings were reported within the context of environmental communication by using the media tools to raise public awareness of the adverse effects of pollutants.