Search

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Although the deleterious effects of air pollution from fossil fuel combustion have been demonstrated in many Western nations, fewer studies have been conducted in Asia. The Public Health and Air Pollution in Asia (PAPA) project assessed the effects of short-term exposure to air pollution on daily mortality in Bangkok, Thailand, and in three cities in China: Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Wuhan. METHODS: Poisson regression models incorporating natural spline smoothing functions were used to adjust for seasonality and other time-varying covariates that might confound the association between air pollution and mortality. Effect estimates were determined for each city and then for the cities combined using a random effects method. RESULTS: In individual cities, associations were detected between most of the pollutants [nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter ≤ 10 µm in aerodynamic diameter (PM10), and ozone] and most health outcomes under study (i.e., all natural-cause, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality). The city-combined effects of the four pollutants tended to be equal or greater than those identified in studies conducted in Western industrial nations. In addition, residents of Asian cities are likely to have higher exposures to air pollution than those in Western industrial nations because they spend more time outdoors and less time in air conditioning. CONCLUSIONS: Although the social and environmental conditions may be quite different, it is reasonable to apply estimates derived from previous health effect of air pollution studies in the West to Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Air pollution data in Bangkok, Thailand, indicate that levels of particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter ≤ 10 µm (PM10) are significantly higher than in most cities in North America and Western Europe, where the health effects of PM10 are well documented. However, the pollution mix, seasonality, and demographics are different from those in developed Western countries. It is important, therefore, to determine whether the large metropolitan area of Bangkok is subject to similar effects of PM10. OBJECTIVES: This study was designed to investigate the mortality risk from air pollution in Bangkok, Thailand. METHODS: The study period extended from 1999 to 2003, for which the Ministry of Public Health provided the mortality data. Measures of air pollution were derived from air monitoring stations, and information on temperature and relative humidity was obtained from the weather station in central Bangkok. The statistical analysis followed the common protocol for the multicity PAPA (Public Health and Air Pollution Project in Asia) project in using a natural cubic spline model with smooths of time and weather. RESULTS: The excess risk for non-accidental mortality was 1.3% [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.8--1.7] per 10 µg/m3 of PM10, with higher excess risks for cardiovascular and above age 65 mortality of 1.9% (95% CI, 0.8--3.0) and 1.5% (95% CI, 0.9--2.1), respectively. In addition, the effects from PM10 appear to be consistent in multipollutant models. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest strong associations between several different mortality outcomes and PM10. In many cases, the effect estimates were higher than those typically reported in Western industrialized nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Although the deleterious effects of air pollution from fossil fuel combustion have been demonstrated in many Western nations, fewer studies have been conducted in Asia. The Public Health and Air Pollution in Asia (PAPA) project assessed the effects of short-term exposure to air pollution on daily mortality in Bangkok, Thailand, and in three cities in China: Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Wuhan., Methods: Poisson regression models incorporating natural spline smoothing functions were used to adjust for seasonality and other time-varying covariates that might confound the association between air pollution and mortality. Effect estimates were determined for each city and then for the cities combined using a random effects method., Results: In individual cities, associations were detected between most of the pollutants [nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter < or = 10 microm in aerodynamic diameter (PM(10)), and ozone] and most health outcomes under study (i.e., all natural-cause, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality). The city-combined effects of the four pollutants tended to be equal or greater than those identified in studies conducted in Western industrial nations. In addition, residents of Asian cities are likely to have higher exposures to air pollution than those in Western industrial nations because they spend more time outdoors and less time in air conditioning., Conclusions: Although the social and environmental conditions may be quite different, it is reasonable to apply estimates derived from previous health effect of air pollution studies in the West to Asia.