Short-term association of air pollution with lung cancer mortality in Osaka, Japan.

Long-term air pollution exposure has been linked to increased lung cancer mortality. However, little is known about whether day-to-day fluctuations in air pollution levels are in relation to lung cancer mortality, particularly in low-exposure settings. This study aimed to evaluate the short-term associations between air pollution and lung cancer mortality. Daily data on lung cancer mortality, fine particulate matter (PM _2.5 ), nitrogen dioxide (NO ₂ ), sulfur dioxide (SO ₂ ), carbon monoxide (CO), and weather conditions were collected from Osaka Prefecture, Japan, from 2010 to 2014. Generalized linear models were combined with quasi-Poisson regression were applied to evaluate the associations between each air pollutant and lung cancer mortality after adjusting for potential confounders. Mean (standard deviation) concentrations of PM _2.5 , NO ₂ , SO ₂ , and CO were 16.7 (8.6) μg/m ³ , 36.8 (14.2) μg/m ³ , 11.1 (4.0) μg/m ³ , and 0.51 (0.16) mg/m ³ , respectively. Interquartile range increases in concentrations of PM _2.5 , NO ₂ , SO ₂ , and CO (2-d moving average) were associated with 2.65% (95% confidence intervals [CIs]: 0.96%-4.37%), 4.28% (95% CIs: 2.24%-6.36%), 3.35% (95% CIs: 1.03%-5.73%), and 4.60% (95% CIs: 2.19%-7.05%) increased risk of lung cancer mortality, respectively. Stratified analyses showed that the associations were strongest in the older population and men. Exposure‒response curves showed a continuously increasing mortality risk from lung cancer with elevation of air pollution levels, without discernible thresholds. In summary, we found evidence of increased lung cancer mortality in relation to short-term elevations in ambient air pollution. These findings may merit further research to better understand this issue.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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