Study links Chinese air pollution to respiratory, cardiovascular deaths

As air pollution in China steadily increases, so do the number of deaths related to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, according to a new study from health officials in the region.

The findings, published in the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, show the amount of air pollution is growing in 272 Chinese cities and that the annual exposure to air pollution in them is 56 micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m3).

"Fine particulate [PM2.5] air pollution is one of the key public health concerns in developing countries including China, but the epidemiological evidence about its health effects is scarce," said Maigeng Zhou, PhD, the lead author on the study and the deputy director of the National Center for Chronic and Non-communicable Disease Control and Prevention at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. "A new monitoring network allowed us to conduct a nationwide study to evaluate short-term associations between PM2.5 and daily cause-specific mortality in China."

Each 10 μg/m3 increase in air pollution was associated with a 0.22 percent increase in death from non-accident related causes, a 0.29 percent increase in respiratory mortality and a 0.38 percent increase in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) mortality.

The chance of death was also significantly higher among people aged 75 and older, and among less educated populations who have limited access to healthcare.

"Our findings may be helpful to formulate public health policies and ambient air quality standards in developing countries to reduce the disease burden associated with PM2.5 air pollution," said Haidong Kan, MD, an author on the study and a professor of public health at Fudan University in China. "Further massive investigations, especially looking at the long-term effect studies, are needed to confirm our results and to identify the most toxic components of PM2.5 in China."

 

Katherine Davis,

Senior Writer

As a Senior Writer for TriMed Media Group, Katherine primarily focuses on producing news stories, Q&As and features for Cardiovascular Business. She reports on several facets of the cardiology industry, including emerging technology, new clinical trials and findings, and quality initiatives among providers. She is based out of TriMed's Chicago office and holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Columbia College Chicago. Her work has appeared in Modern Healthcare, Crain's Chicago Business and The Detroit News. She joined TriMed in 2016.

Around the web

Eleven medical societies have signed on to a consensus statement aimed at standardizing imaging for suspected cardiovascular infections.

Kate Hanneman, MD, explains why many vendors and hospitals want to lower radiology's impact on the environment. "Taking steps to reduce the carbon footprint in healthcare isn’t just an opportunity," she said. "It’s also a responsibility."

Philips introduced a new CT system at ECR aimed at the rapidly growing cardiac CT market, incorporating numerous AI features to optimize workflow and image quality.

Trimed Popup
Trimed Popup