Largest Ever PM2.5 Study Finds Risks for Elderly at Levels Below Proposed Standards
New data from a four-year study of 11.5 Medicare participants show that short-term exposure to fine particle air pollution significantly increases the risk for cardiovascular and respiratory disease among people over 65 years of age.
The study is the largest ever conducted on the link between fine particle air pollution and hospital admissions for heart and lung disease.
The study found that small increases in PM2.5 pollution resulted in increased hospital admissions for heart and vascular disease, heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and respiratory infection. Study participants over 75 years of age experienced even greater increases in admissions for heart problems and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease than those between 65 and 74 years of age.
The average of the county mean annual concentrations in the study was 13.4 ug/m3, well below the current and proposed annual average PM2.5 standard of 15 ug/m3, with the majority of the values falling between 11.3 and 15.2 ug/m3. On most days, particle concentrations were below 35 ug/m3, the level of the proposed 24-hour standard for fine particles.
Cardiovascular risks tended to be higher in the Eastern half of the United States, where particle concentrations are dominated by power plant emissions.
“Our findings indicate an ongoing threat to the health of the elderly population from airborne particles and provide a rationale for setting a PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standard that is as protective of their health as possible,” conclude the authors.
“These findings provide compelling evidence that fine particle concentrations well below the national standard are harmful to the cardiovascular and respiratory health of our elderly citizens,” commented David A. Schwartz, M.D., Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
JAMA offers the abstract and full article online.
Dominci F, Peng RD, Bell ML, Pham L, McDermott A, Zeger SL, Samet JM. Fine Particulate Air Pollution and Hospital Admission for Cardiovascular and Respiratory Diseases. JAMA 2006; 295:1127-1134.
