Search

Studies have confirmed that adverse human health effects that are associated with exposure to air pollution may differ depending on other factors such as age, gender, environmental conditions, and socio-economic factors. This study was conducted to assess the association between ambient air pollution and cause-specific mortality in the three big cities in South Africa and to determine the susceptible groups thereof. Cause-specific mortality data for all ages and PM 10 , NO 2 , and SO 2 in Cape Town, Durban, and Johannesburg for the period from 1 January 2006 to 31 December 2010 were obtained. Statistical analyses were done to estimate the associations between air pollutants and cause-specific mortality. Susceptibility was therefore investigated in stratified analyses by sex and age (≥60 years) and environmental conditions (heat and cold) followed by models with interaction terms. Our estimates showed independent associations between these air pollutants, environmental conditions, and susceptible groups., (© 2021. The Author(s).) more...

In 2015, stricter regulations to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions and particulate air pollution from shipping were implemented in the Baltic Sea. We investigated the effects on population exposure to particles <2.5 µm (PM 2.5 ) from shipping and estimated related morbidity and mortality in Sweden's 21 counties at different spatial resolutions. We used a regional model to estimate exposure in Sweden and a city-scale model for Gothenburg. Effects of PM 2.5 exposure on total mortality, ischemic heart disease, and stroke were estimated using exposure-response functions from the literature and combining them into disability-adjusted life years (DALYS). PM 2.5 exposure from shipping in Gothenburg decreased by 7% (1.6 to 1.5 µg/m 3 ) using the city-scale model, and 35% (0.5 to 0.3 µg/m 3 ) using the regional model. Different population resolutions had no effects on population exposures. In the city-scale model, annual premature deaths due to shipping PM 2.5 dropped from 97 with the high-sulfur scenario to 90 in the low-sulfur scenario, and in the regional model from 32 to 21. In Sweden, DALYs lost due to PM 2.5 from Baltic Sea shipping decreased from approximately 5700 to 4200. In conclusion, sulfur emission restrictions for shipping had positive effects on health, but the model resolution affects estimations. more...