Dataset Information

Association between air pollution and suicide in South Korea: a nationwide study.

ABSTRACT: Suggestive associations of suicide with air pollutant concentrations have been reported. Recognizing regional and temporal variability of pollutant concentrations and of suicide, we undertook a detailed meta-analysis of completed suicides in relation to 5 major pollutants over 6 years in the 16 administrative regions of the Republic of Korea, while also controlling for other established influences on suicide rates. Of the 5 major pollutants examined, ozone concentrations had a powerful association with suicide rate, extending back to 4 weeks. Over the range of 2 standard deviations (SD) around the annual mean ozone concentration, the adjusted suicide rate increased by an estimated 7.8% of the annual mean rate. Particulate matter pollution also had a significant effect, strongest with a 4-week lag, equivalent to 3.6% of the annual mean rate over the same 2 SD range that approximated the half of annual observed range. These results strongly suggest deleterious effects of ozone and particulate matter pollution on the major public health problem of suicide.

SUBMITTER: Kim Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4333123 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Association between air pollution and suicide in South Korea: a nationwide study.

Kim Youngdon Y Myung Woojae W Won Hong-Hee HH Shim Sanghong S Jeon Hong Jin HJ Choi Junbae J Carroll Bernard J BJ Kim Doh Kwan DK

PloS one 20150218 2

Suggestive associations of suicide with air pollutant concentrations have been reported. Recognizing regional and temporal variability of pollutant concentrations and of suicide, we undertook a detailed meta-analysis of completed suicides in relation to 5 major pollutants over 6 years in the 16 administrative regions of the Republic of Korea, while also controlling for other established influences on suicide rates. Of the 5 major pollutants examined, ozone concentrations had a powerful associati ...[more]

PMID: 25693115

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Project description:Meniere's disease is thought to be a disorder of the inner ear function, affected by genetic and environmental factors. Several recent studies have shown that air pollution could affect middle and inner ear diseases. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the Meniere's disease occurrence and air pollution status in Korea. This study used a time-stratified case-crossover design. Hospital visit data by Meniere's disease were collected from the Korea National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort (NHIS-NSC) database. Daily air pollution data for sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O3), and particulate matter (PM10: ≤ 10 μm in diameter, and PM2.5: ≤ 2.5 μm in diameter) were collected from the National Ambient air quality Monitoring Information System (NAMIS) database. We used two-stage analysis to assess the association between degree of air pollution and the occurrence of Meniere's disease. In the first stage, region-specific analysis was conducted to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) of Meniere's disease risk associated with each air pollutant exposure by using conditional logistic regression for matched case-control sets in 16 regions. In the second stage, region-specific ORs from the first stage were combined and the pooled effect estimates were derived through fixed and random effect meta-analysis. Subgroup analysis was conducted for age, sex, seasonality, and urbanization of residence. In total, 29,646 (32.1% males and 67.9% females) Meniere's disease cases were identified from Korea NHIS-NSC database between 2008 and 2015. Overall, SO2, NO2, CO, and PM10 showed significant correlation with Meniere's disease risk at immediate lags, and weaker correlation at delayed lags, whereas O3 showed slightly negative correlation at the immediate lag (lag0) and PM2.5 did not show strong correlation (SO2: 1.04 [95% confidence interval: 1.01, 1.06]; NO2: 1.08 [1.06, 1.11]; CO: 1.04 [1.02, 1.06]; O3: 0.96 [0.93, 0.99]: statistically significant ORs at lag0 are listed). These positive and negative associations between Meniere's disease and each air pollutant were generally stronger in the age of 40-64, female, summer (June-August) season, and urban subgroups. Our results showed that hospital visits for Meniere's disease were associated with the measured concentrations of ambient air pollutants SO2, NO2, CO, and PM10. Further studies are required to confirm these associations and find their mechanisms.

Project description:BackgroundCompared to 10 years ago, the ambient particulate matter 10 (PM10) and carbon monoxide (CO) levels in South Korea have decreased. However, compared to many other OECD countries, these levels are still too high. Concentration of air pollutants such as PM10 is especially higher during winter than during summer. The first step to rationally solving the air pollution problem in Korea is to identify the key air pollution sources during each season. This ecological study was performed to assess the association between the number of days the accepted PM10 and CO thresholds were exceeded and the concentration of potential emission sources in winter season 2015.MethodsAn emission inventory of the PM10 and CO emissions in the 232 administrative South Korean districts in January, 2015, and February, 2015 and December, 2015, and the population density, number of car registrations, number of car accidents, industrial power usage, and presence of a fossil-fuel power plant in each district was established on the basis of official web-page data from the government. For all emission source variables except power plants, the administrative districts were grouped into quartiles. Districts were also divided according to whether a power plant was present or not. Negative binomial regression was performed to assess the associations between the PM10 and CO air pollution (defined as ≥100 g/m3 and ≥ 9 ppm, respectively) and the concentration of each emission source.ResultsCompared to the districts with the lowest population density, the districts with the third highest population density associated most strongly with air pollution. This was also observed for industrial power usage. Car accident number and car registration numbers showed a linear relationship with air pollution. Districts with power plants were significantly more likely to have air pollution than districts that lacked a plant.ConclusionsGreater car numbers, industrial activity, and population density, and the presence of fossil-fuel plants associated with air pollution in the 2015 winter in South Korea. These data highlight the contaminant sources that could be targeted by interventions that aim to reduce air pollution, decrease the incidence of exposure, and limit the impact of pollution on human health.

Dataset Information

Association between air pollution and suicide in South Korea: a nationwide study.

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Association between air pollution and suicide in South Korea: a nationwide study.

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