Particulate Pollution Increases Risk of Heart Attacks in the Elderly
This multi-city study examined the association between PM10 and emergency hospitalization for heart attacks among elderly residents of 21 U.S. cities.
Researchers obtained Medicare data on hospital admissions for 300,000 heart attacks over a 14-year period. The statistical model was able to control for possible confounding by weather.
The cities studied were Birmingham, AL, Boulder, CO, Canton, OH, Chicago, IL, Cincinnati, OH, Cleveland, OH, Colorado Springs, CO, Columbus, OH, Denver Co, Detroit MI, Honolulu HI, Houston, TX, Minneapolis, MN, Nashville, TN, New Haven, CT, Pittsburgh, PA, Provo/Orem, UT, Salt Lake City, UT, Seattle, WA, Steubenville, OH, and Youngstown, OH.
Overall, there was a small association between daily PM10 concentrations and increased risk of hospital admission for heart attack. The risk doubled for those with a previous admission for COPD. The relationship was nearly linear, but risks increased most sharply at daily concentrations less than 50 µg/m3.
Zanobetti A, Schwartz J. The Effect of Particulate Air Pollution on Emergency Admissions for Myocardial Infarction: A Multicity Case-Crossover Analysis. Environ Health Perspec 2005; 113:978-982.
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