Dataset Information

Characterization of fine particulate matter and associations between particulate chemical constituents and mortality in Seoul, Korea.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Numerous studies have linked fine particles [? 2.5 µm in aerodynamic diameter (PM(2.5))] and health. Most studies focused on the total mass of the particles, although the chemical composition of the particles varies substantially. Which chemical components of fine particles that are the most harmful is not well understood, and research on the chemical composition of PM(2.5) and the components that are the most harmful is particularly limited in Asia.

Objectives

We characterized PM(2.5) chemical composition and estimated the effects of cause-specific mortality of PM(2.5) mass and constituents in Seoul, Korea. We compared the chemical composition of particles to those of the eastern and western United States.

Methods

We examined temporal variability of PM(2.5) mass and its composition using hourly data. We applied an overdispersed Poisson generalized linear model, adjusting for time, day of week, temperature, and relative humidity to investigate the association between risk of mortality and PM(2.5) mass and its constituents in Seoul, Korea, for August 2008 through October 2009.

Results

PM(2.5) and chemical components exhibited temporal patterns by time of day and season. The chemical characteristics of Seoul's PM(2.5) were more similar to PM(2.5) found in the western United States than in the eastern United States. Seoul's PM(2.5) had lower sulfate (SO(4)) contributions and higher nitrate (NO(3)) contributions than that of the eastern United States, although overall PM(2.5) levels in Seoul were higher than in the United States. An interquartile range (IQR) increase in magnesium (Mg) (0.05 ?g/m³) was associated with a 1.4% increase (95% confidence interval: 0.2%, 2.6%) in total mortality on the following day. Several components that were among the largest contributors to PM(2.5) total mass--NO(3), SO(4), and ammonium (NH(4))--were moderately associated with same-day cardiovascular mortality at the p < 0.10 level. Other components with smaller mass contributions [Mg and chlorine (Cl)] exhibited moderate associations with respiratory mortality on the following day (p < 0.10).

Conclusions

Our findings link PM(2.5) constituents with mortality and have implications for policy making on sources of PM(2.5) and on the relevance of PM(2.5) health studies from other areas to this region.

SUBMITTER: Son JY

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3385433 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Characterization of fine particulate matter and associations between particulate chemical constituents and mortality in Seoul, Korea.

Son Ji-Young JY Lee Jong-Tae JT Kim Ki-Hyun KH Jung Kweon K Bell Michelle L ML

Environmental health perspectives 20120322 6

<h4>Background</h4>Numerous studies have linked fine particles [≤ 2.5 µm in aerodynamic diameter (PM(2.5))] and health. Most studies focused on the total mass of the particles, although the chemical composition of the particles varies substantially. Which chemical components of fine particles that are the most harmful is not well understood, and research on the chemical composition of PM(2.5) and the components that are the most harmful is particularly limited in Asia.<h4>Objectives</h4>We chara ...[more]

PMID: 22440884

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundSeveral epidemiological studies have reported that long-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is associated with higher mortality. Evidence regarding contributions of PM2.5 constituents is inconclusive.ObjectivesWe assembled a data set of 12.5 million Medicare enrollees (? 65 years of age) to determine which PM2.5 constituents are a) associated with mortality controlling for previous-year PM2.5 total mass (main effect); and b) elevated in locations exhibiting stronger associations between previous-year PM2.5 and mortality (effect modification).MethodsFor 518 PM2.5 monitoring locations (eastern United States, 2000-2006), we calculated monthly mortality rates, monthly long-term (previous 1-year average) PM2.5, and 7-year averages (2000-2006) of major PM2.5 constituents [elemental carbon (EC), organic carbon matter (OCM), sulfate (SO42-), silicon (Si), nitrate (NO3-), and sodium (Na)] and community-level variables. We applied a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate location-specific mortality rates associated with previous-year PM2.5 (model level 1) and identify constituents that contributed to the spatial variability of mortality, and constituents that modified associations between previous-year PM2.5 and mortality (model level 2), controlling for community-level confounders.ResultsOne-standard deviation (SD) increases in 7-year average EC, Si, and NO3- concentrations were associated with 1.3% [95% posterior interval (PI): 0.3, 2.2], 1.4% (95% PI: 0.6, 2.4), and 1.2% (95% PI: 0.4, 2.1) increases in monthly mortality, controlling for previous-year PM2.5. Associations between previous-year PM2.5 and mortality were stronger in combination with 1-SD increases in SO42- and Na.ConclusionsLong-term exposures to PM2.5 and several constituents were associated with mortality in the elderly population of the eastern United States. Moreover, some constituents increased the association between long-term exposure to PM2.5 and mortality. These results provide new evidence that chemical composition can partly explain the differential toxicity of PM2.5.

Project description:Both domestic emissions and transported pollutants from neighboring countries affect the ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentration of Seoul, Korea. Diverse measures to control the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), such as social distancing and increased telecommuting in Korea and the stringent lockdown measures of China, may reduce domestic emissions and levels of transported pollutants, respectively. In addition, wearing a particulate-filtering respirator may have decreased the absolute PM2.5 exposure level for individuals. Therefore, this study estimated the acute health benefits of PM2.5 reduction and changes in public behavior during the COVID-19 crisis in Seoul, Korea. To calculate the mortality burden attributable to PM2.5, we obtained residents' registration data, mortality data, and air pollution monitoring data for Seoul from publicly available databases. Relative risks were derived from previous time-series studies. We used the attributable fraction to estimate the number of excessive deaths attributable to acute PM2.5 exposure during January to April, yearly, from 2016 to 2020, and the number of mortalities avoided from PM2.5 reduction and respirator use observed in 2020. The average PM2.5 concentration from January to April in 2020 (25.6 μg/m3) was the lowest in the last 5 years. At least -4.1 μg/m3 (95% CI: -7.2, -0.9) change in ambient PM2.5 in Seoul was observed in 2020 compared to the previous 4 years. Overall, 37.6 (95% CI: 32.6, 42.5) non-accidental; 7.0 (95% CI: 5.7, 8.4) cardiovascular; and 4.7 (95% CI: 3.4, 6.1) respiratory mortalities were avoided due to PM2.5 reduction in 2020. By considering the effects of particulate respirator, decreases of 102.5 (95% CI: 89.0, 115.9) non-accidental; 19.1 (95% CI: 15.6, 22.9) cardiovascular; and 12.9 (95% CI: 9.2, 16.5) respiratory mortalities were estimated. We estimated that 37 lives were saved due to the PM2.5 reduction related to COVID-19 in Seoul, Korea. The health benefit may be greater due to the popular use of particulate-filtering respirators during the COVID-19 crisis. Future studies with daily mortality data are needed to verify our study estimates.

Project description:BACKGROUND:The link between PM2.5 exposure and adverse health outcomes is well documented from studies across the world. However, the reported effect estimates vary across studies, locations and constituents. We aimed to conduct a meta-analysis on associations between short-term exposure to PM2.5 constituents and mortality using city-specific estimates, and explore factors that may explain some of the observed heterogeneity. METHODS:We systematically reviewed epidemiological studies on particle constituents and mortality using PubMed and Web of Science databases up to July 2015.We included studies that examined the association between short-term exposure to PM2.5 constituents and all-cause, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality, in the general adult population. Each study was summarized based on pre-specified study key parameters (e.g., location, time period, population, diagnostic classification standard), and we evaluated the risk of bias using the Office of Health Assessment and Translation (OHAT) Method for each included study. We extracted city-specific mortality risk estimates for each constituent and cause of mortality. For multi-city studies, we requested the city-specific risk estimates from the authors unless reported in the article. We performed random effects meta-analyses using city-specific estimates, and examined whether the effects vary across regions and city characteristics (PM2.5 concentration levels, air temperature, elevation, vegetation, size of elderly population, population density, and baseline mortality). RESULTS:We found a 0.89% (95% CI: 0.68, 1.10%) increase in all-cause, a 0.80% (95% CI: 0.41, 1.20%) increase in cardiovascular, and a 1.10% (95% CI: 0.59, 1.62%) increase in respiratory mortality per 10?g/m3 increase in PM2.5. Accounting for the downward bias induced by studies of single days, the all-cause mortality estimate increased to 1.01% (95% CI: 0.81, 1.20%). We found significant associations between mortality and several PM2.5 constituents. The most consistent and stronger associations were observed for elemental carbon (EC) and potassium (K). For most of the constituents, we observed high variability of effect estimates across cities. CONCLUSIONS:Our meta-analysis suggests that (a) combustion elements such as EC and K have a stronger association with mortality, (b) single lag studies underestimate effects, and (c) estimates of PM2.5 and constituents differ across regions. Accounting for PM mass in constituent's health models may lead to more stable and comparable effect estimates across different studies. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION:PROSPERO: CRD42017055765.

Dataset Information

Characterization of fine particulate matter and associations between particulate chemical constituents and mortality in Seoul, Korea.

Background

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Characterization of fine particulate matter and associations between particulate chemical constituents and mortality in Seoul, Korea.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure