The effects of air pollution on years of life lost in Beijing, China: a time series study

Abstract

Background: Undoubtedly, air pollution increases the risk of mortality. However, less evidence is available on the burden of air pollution on years of life lost which combines the counts of deaths with life expectancy. Aims: To better understand the burden of air pollution on deaths, we examine the effects of air pollutants on years of life lost in Beijing, China. Methods: We obtained data on daily non-accidental deaths, air pollutants (PM2.5, PM10, SO2, and NO2) and weather conditions (temperature, relative humidity, and air pressure) in urban Beijing, China, between 2004 and 2008. We examined the association between daily air pollutants and years of life lost, after adjusting for long-term trend, seasonality, day of the week, and weather conditions. Results: All air pollutants had significant impact on years of life lost when we used single pollutant models. The effects of air pollutants on years of life lost appeared acutely and only lasted for 2 days (lag 0–1 days). The effects of air pollutants were alleviated when multiple air pollutants were included into the models. Women and people aged ? 65 years were more affected by air pollutants than men and those aged > 65 years, respectively. Conclusions: Using years of life lost provides a novel measure to examine the impact of air pollutants on mortality. Increased years of life lost are associated with air pollution. This study highlights that reducing air pollution is necessary in Beijing, China.