Ischemic Heart Disease Mortality and Long-Term Exposure to Source-Related Components of U.S. Fine Particle Air Pollution

Abstract

Background:Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution exposure has been identified as a global health threat. However, the types and sources of particles most responsible are not yet known.Objectives:We sought to identify the causal characteristics and sources of air pollution underlying past associations between long-term PM2.5 exposure and ischemic heart disease (IHD) mortality, as established in the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Prevention Study-II cohort.Methods:Individual risk factor data were evaluated for 445,860 adults in 100 U.S. metropolitan areas followed from 1982 through 2004 for vital status and cause of death. Using Cox proportional hazard models, we estimated IHD mortality hazard ratios (HRs) for PM2.5, trace constituents, and pollution source–associated PM2.5, as derived from air monitoring at central stations throughout the nation during 2000–2005.Results:Associations with IHD mortality varied by PM2.5 mass constituent and source. A coal combustion PM2.5 IHD HR = 1.05 (95% CI: 1.02, 1.08) per microgram/cubic meter, versus an IHD HR = 1.01 (95% CI: 1.00, 1.02) per microgram/cubic meter PM2.5 mass, indicated a risk roughly five times higher for coal combustion PM2.5 than for PM2.5 mass in general, on a per microgram/cubic meter PM2.5 basis. Diesel traffic–related elemental carbon (EC) soot was also associated with IHD mortality (HR = 1.03; 95% CI: 1.00, 1.06 per 0.26-μg/m3 EC increase). However, PM2.5 from both wind-blown soil and biomass combustion was not associated with IHD mortality.Conclusions:Long-term PM2.5 exposures from fossil fuel combustion, especially coal burning but also from diesel traffic, were associated with increases in IHD mortality in this nationwide population. Results suggest that PM2.5–mortality associations can vary greatly by source, and that the largest IHD health benefits per microgram/cubic meter from PM2.5 air pollution control may be achieved via reductions of fossil fuel combustion exposures, especially from coal-burning sources.Citation:Thurston GD, Burnett RT, Turner MC, Shi Y, Krewski D, Lall R, Ito K, Jerrett M, Gapstur SM, Diver WR, Pope CA III. 2016. Ischemic heart disease mortality and long-term exposure to source-related components of U.S. fine particle air pollution. Environ Health Perspect 124:785–794; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1509777

Relationship between chemical composition and oxidative potential of secondary organic aerosol from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

“…Exposure to particulate matter (PM) has been associated with various adverse health outcomes, such as increased risks of myocardial infarction, ischemic heart disease, lung cancer, exacerbation of asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (de Kok et al, 2006;Li et al, 2003a, b;Nel, 2005;Risom et al, 2005;Thurston et al, 2016). As a result, ambient PM 2.5 exposure ranks among the top five global mortality risk factors (Cohen et al, 2017).…”

Avaliação de impacto à saúde do Programa de Controle de Poluição do Ar por Veículos Automotores no município de São Paulo, Brasil

“…Associações similares entre poluição do ar e doenças cardiovasculares também foram encontradas em estudos nos Estados Unidos (THURSTON et al, 2016), em Taiwan (CHANG et al, 2015), no Canadá (VILLENEUVE et al, 2015), na Europa (BRUNEKREEF et al, 2009;LANKI et al, 2015) e no Brasil (BRAGA et al, 2007;ABE & MIRAGLIA, 2016). Assim, a poluição atmosférica é tema de muitos estudos, assim como os processos de combustão dos veículos, geradores de muitos gases e partículas que possuem participação importante na geração de efeitos adversos à saúde.…”

Environment, Global Climate Change, and Cardiopulmonary Health

“…In addition, land degradation contributes a significant amount of stress on food production that could potentially lead to future famine in affected countries. Sand dust storms have been associated with increased risk of cardiopulmonary morbidity (20)(21)(22)(23), as well as mortality (24), although the evidence is somewhat inconsistent for mortality due to ischemic heart disease (25). Laboratory models point to an inflammatory mechanism with desert dust particles increasing cellular permeability, inflammatory markers, and cellular toxicity in both in vivo (26) and in vitro models (27).…”

“…The health impact is particularly high for PM 2.5 from coalburning facilities, which has been associated with an ischemic heart disease mortality risk that is roughly five times that of the average for PM 2.5 particles from other sources (25). GHG mitigation measures can therefore also provide both local and immediate clean air public health benefits to nations, states, and localities that enact fossil fuel emission reduction measures.…”