Another Replication of Fine Particles and Mortality

Another replication of the association between particulate air pollution and mortality adds more weight to the evidence. This study comes from Johns Hopkins.The National Morbidity and Mortality Air Pollution Study includes data for 100 US cities, For the period 1987–2000, at the national level, a 10-µg/m3 increase in particulate matter less than 10 µm in aerodynamic diameter [PM10] at a 1-day lag was associated with 0.15%, 0.14%, 0.36%, and 0.14% increases in mortality for winter, spring, summer, and fall, respectively. An analysis by geographic region found a strong seasonal pattern in the Northeast (with a peak in summer) and little seasonal variation in the southern regions of the country. These results provide useful information for understanding particle toxicity and guiding future analyses of particle constituent data.

American Journal of Epidemiology 2005 161(6):585-594;

Seasonal Analyses of Air Pollution and Mortality in 100 US Cities

Roger D. Peng1, Francesca Dominici1, Roberto Pastor-Barriuso2, Scott L. Zeger1 and Jonathan M. Samet3

1 Department of Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD2 Epidemiology and Biostatistics Section, National Center for Epidemiology, Carlos III Institute of Health, Madrid, Spain3 Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD