Risk of Early Death from Chronic Exposure to PM2.5 3 Times Greater than Previously Reported
Earlier studies of long-term health risks of air pollution relied on estimates of community average exposures which may entail measurement error, thus lowering the estimate of health risks attributable to poor air quality.
This study used data from 23 PM2.5 monitors and 42 ozone monitors to interpolate pollution exposures for nearly 23,000 residents of Los Angeles who are enrolled in the American Cancer Society cohort. After controlling for 44 different factors, the more accurate estimate of PM2.5 exposure was associated with an increased relative risk for all cause mortality, deaths from ischemic heart disease, and lung cancer deaths. The results suggest that chronic health effects associated with within city gradients in exposure to PM2.5 may be even larger than previously reported across metropolitan areas. Specifically, effects were nearly three times greater than reported in previous studies based on the American Cancer Society cohort.
Jerrett M, Burnett RT, Ma R, Pope III CA, Kerewski D, Newbold KB, Thurston G, Shi Y, Finkelstein N, Calle EE, Thun MJ. Spatial Analysis of Air Pollution and Mortality in Los Angeles. Epidemiology 2005; 16:727-736.
For a copy of the abstract click here.
