Abstract
This study was undertaken to determine whether there was an association between PM2.5 levels and daily mortality in Taipei, Taiwan, the largest metropolitan city with a subtropical climate. Daily mortality, air pollution, and weather data for Taipei were obtained for the period from 2006–2008. The relative risk of daily mortality was estimated using a time-stratified case-crossover approach, controlling for weather variables, day of the week, seasonality, and long-term time trends. For the single pollutant model, PM2.5 showed association with total mortality both on warm (>23 °C) and cool days (<23 °C). There is no indication of an association between PM2.5 and risk of death due to respiratory diseases both on warm and cool days. PM2.5 had effects on the risk of death from cardiovascular diseases only on cool days. In the two-pollutant models, PM2.5 remained effects on the risk of mortality for all cause and cardiovascular disease after the inclusion of SO2 and O3 both on warm and cool days. This study provides evidence that short-term exposure to PM2.5 increased the risk of death for all cause and cardiovascular disease.
Highlights
Over the past decade, many epidemiologic studies have demonstrated positive associations between ambient levels of airborne particulate matter (PM, generally measured as PM with an aerodynamic diameter < 10 μm [PM10]) and daily mortality [1,2,3,4,5,6,7] and hospital admissions or emergency room (ER)visits for cardiovascular and respiratory morbidity [8,9,10,11,12]
It is for this reason that the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends using PM2.5 rather than PM10 concentrations as indicators of air quality [7]
This study was undertaken to examine the association between short-term exposure to PM2.5 and daily mortality among individuals residing in Taipei city, the largest metropolitan city in Taiwan, over a 3 year period from 2006–2008, using a case-crossover design
Summary
Many epidemiologic studies have demonstrated positive associations between ambient levels of airborne particulate matter (PM, generally measured as PM with an aerodynamic diameter < 10 μm [PM10]) and daily mortality [1,2,3,4,5,6,7] and hospital admissions or emergency room (ER). It is generally accepted that PM2.5 are more harmful for health than larger particles (PM10) because PM2.5 can be inhaled more deeply into the lungs and offer a greater surface area and potentially larger concentrations of adsorbed or condensed toxic air pollutants per unit mass [19,20]. It is for this reason that the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends using PM2.5 rather than PM10 concentrations as indicators of air quality [7]. This study was undertaken to examine the association between short-term exposure to PM2.5 and daily mortality among individuals residing in Taipei city, the largest metropolitan city in Taiwan, over a 3 year period from 2006–2008, using a case-crossover design
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