- Comment in:
- JAMA.
2002 Aug 21;288(7):830; author reply 830.
Lung cancer, cardiopulmonary mortality, and long-term exposure to fine
particulate air pollution.
Department of Economics, Brigham Young University, 142
FOB, Provo, UT 84602, USA. cap3@email.byu.edu
CONTEXT: Associations have been found between day-to-day
particulate air pollution and increased risk of various adverse health
outcomes, including cardiopulmonary mortality. However, studies of health
effects of long-term particulate air pollution have been less conclusive.
OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationship between long-term exposure to fine
particulate air pollution and all-cause, lung cancer, and cardiopulmonary
mortality. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Vital status and cause of death
data were collected by the American Cancer Society as part of the Cancer
Prevention II study, an ongoing prospective mortality study, which enrolled
approximately 1.2 million adults in 1982. Participants completed a
questionnaire detailing individual risk factor data (age, sex, race, weight,
height, smoking history, education, marital status, diet, alcohol consumption,
and occupational exposures). The risk factor data for approximately 500 000
adults were linked with air pollution data for metropolitan areas throughout
the United States and combined with vital status and cause of death data
through December 31, 1998. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: All-cause, lung cancer, and
cardiopulmonary mortality. RESULTS: Fine particulate and sulfur oxide--related
pollution were associated with all-cause, lung cancer, and cardiopulmonary
mortality. Each 10-microg/m(3) elevation in fine particulate air pollution was
associated with approximately a 4%, 6%, and 8% increased risk of all-cause,
cardiopulmonary, and lung cancer mortality, respectively. Measures of coarse
particle fraction and total suspended particles were not consistently
associated with mortality. CONCLUSION: Long-term exposure to
combustion-related fine particulate air pollution is an important
environmental risk factor for cardiopulmonary and lung cancer mortality.
PMID: 11879110 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]