Gender Differences in Association between Air Pollution and Daily Mortality in the Capital of the Green Lungs of Poland–Population-Based Study with 2,953,000 Person-Years of Follow-Up
(1) Introduction: air pollution is considered to be one of the main risk factors for public health. According to the European Environment Agency (EEA), air pollution contributes to the premature deaths of approximately 500,000 citizens of the European Union (EU), including almost 5000 inhabitants of...
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MDPI AG
2020-07-01
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| Series: | Journal of Clinical Medicine |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/9/8/2351 |
| _version_ | 1797561512169046016 |
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| author | Łukasz Kuźma Krzysztof Struniawski Szymon Pogorzelski Hanna Bachórzewska-Gajewska Sławomir Dobrzycki |
| author_facet | Łukasz Kuźma Krzysztof Struniawski Szymon Pogorzelski Hanna Bachórzewska-Gajewska Sławomir Dobrzycki |
| author_sort | Łukasz Kuźma |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | (1) Introduction: air pollution is considered to be one of the main risk factors for public health. According to the European Environment Agency (EEA), air pollution contributes to the premature deaths of approximately 500,000 citizens of the European Union (EU), including almost 5000 inhabitants of Poland every year. (2) Purpose: to assess the gender differences in the impact of air pollution on the mortality in the population of the city of Bialystok—the capital of the Green Lungs of Poland. (3) Materials and Methods: based on the data from the Central Statistical Office, the number—and causes of death—of Białystok residents in the period 2008–2017 were analyzed. The study utilized the data recorded by the Provincial Inspectorate for Environmental Protection station and the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management during the analysis period. Time series regression with Poisson distribution was used in statistical analysis. (4) Results: A total of 34,005 deaths had been recorded, in which women accounted for 47.5%. The proportion of cardiovascular-related deaths was 48% (<i>n</i> = 16,370). An increase of SO<sub>2</sub> concentration by 1-µg/m<sup>3</sup> (relative risk (RR) 1.07, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02–1.12; <i>p</i> = 0.005) and a 10 °C decrease of temperature (RR 1.03, 95% CI 1.01–1.05; <i>p</i> = 0.005) were related to an increase in the number of daily deaths. No gender differences in the impact of air pollution on mortality were observed. In the analysis of the subgroup of cardiovascular deaths, the main pollutant that was found to have an effect on daily mortality was particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 μm or less (PM2.5); the RR for 10-µg/m<sup>3</sup> increase of PM2.5 was 1.07 (95% CI 1.02–1.12; <i>p</i> = 0.01), and this effect was noted only in the male population. (5) Conclusions: air quality and atmospheric conditions had an impact on the mortality of Bialystok residents. The main air pollutant that influenced the mortality rate was SO<sub>2</sub>, and there were no gender differences in the impact of this pollutant. In the male population, an increased exposure to PM2.5 concentration was associated with significantly higher cardiovascular mortality. These findings suggest that improving air quality, in particular, even with lower SO<sub>2</sub> levels than currently allowed by the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, may benefit public health. Further studies on this topic are needed, but our results bring questions whether the recommendations concerning acceptable concentrations of air pollutants should be stricter, or is there a safe concentration of SO<sub>2</sub> in the air at all. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T18:15:56Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-0383 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T18:15:56Z |
| publishDate | 2020-07-01 |
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| series | Journal of Clinical Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-664393f3643e4c79b0fb637d5a90c6ed2023-11-20T07:43:12ZengMDPI AGJournal of Clinical Medicine2077-03832020-07-0198235110.3390/jcm9082351Gender Differences in Association between Air Pollution and Daily Mortality in the Capital of the Green Lungs of Poland–Population-Based Study with 2,953,000 Person-Years of Follow-UpŁukasz Kuźma0Krzysztof Struniawski1Szymon Pogorzelski2Hanna Bachórzewska-Gajewska3Sławomir Dobrzycki4Department of Invasive Cardiology, Medical University of Bialystok, 15-276 Bialystok, PolandDepartment of Invasive Cardiology, Medical University of Bialystok, 15-276 Bialystok, PolandDepartment of Invasive Cardiology, Medical University of Bialystok, 15-276 Bialystok, PolandDepartment of Invasive Cardiology, Medical University of Bialystok, 15-276 Bialystok, PolandDepartment of Invasive Cardiology, Medical University of Bialystok, 15-276 Bialystok, Poland(1) Introduction: air pollution is considered to be one of the main risk factors for public health. According to the European Environment Agency (EEA), air pollution contributes to the premature deaths of approximately 500,000 citizens of the European Union (EU), including almost 5000 inhabitants of Poland every year. (2) Purpose: to assess the gender differences in the impact of air pollution on the mortality in the population of the city of Bialystok—the capital of the Green Lungs of Poland. (3) Materials and Methods: based on the data from the Central Statistical Office, the number—and causes of death—of Białystok residents in the period 2008–2017 were analyzed. The study utilized the data recorded by the Provincial Inspectorate for Environmental Protection station and the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management during the analysis period. Time series regression with Poisson distribution was used in statistical analysis. (4) Results: A total of 34,005 deaths had been recorded, in which women accounted for 47.5%. The proportion of cardiovascular-related deaths was 48% (<i>n</i> = 16,370). An increase of SO<sub>2</sub> concentration by 1-µg/m<sup>3</sup> (relative risk (RR) 1.07, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02–1.12; <i>p</i> = 0.005) and a 10 °C decrease of temperature (RR 1.03, 95% CI 1.01–1.05; <i>p</i> = 0.005) were related to an increase in the number of daily deaths. No gender differences in the impact of air pollution on mortality were observed. In the analysis of the subgroup of cardiovascular deaths, the main pollutant that was found to have an effect on daily mortality was particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 μm or less (PM2.5); the RR for 10-µg/m<sup>3</sup> increase of PM2.5 was 1.07 (95% CI 1.02–1.12; <i>p</i> = 0.01), and this effect was noted only in the male population. (5) Conclusions: air quality and atmospheric conditions had an impact on the mortality of Bialystok residents. The main air pollutant that influenced the mortality rate was SO<sub>2</sub>, and there were no gender differences in the impact of this pollutant. In the male population, an increased exposure to PM2.5 concentration was associated with significantly higher cardiovascular mortality. These findings suggest that improving air quality, in particular, even with lower SO<sub>2</sub> levels than currently allowed by the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, may benefit public health. Further studies on this topic are needed, but our results bring questions whether the recommendations concerning acceptable concentrations of air pollutants should be stricter, or is there a safe concentration of SO<sub>2</sub> in the air at all.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/9/8/2351air pollutionmortalitycardiovascular mortalitygender differencesulfur dioxide |
| spellingShingle | Łukasz Kuźma Krzysztof Struniawski Szymon Pogorzelski Hanna Bachórzewska-Gajewska Sławomir Dobrzycki Gender Differences in Association between Air Pollution and Daily Mortality in the Capital of the Green Lungs of Poland–Population-Based Study with 2,953,000 Person-Years of Follow-Up Journal of Clinical Medicine air pollution mortality cardiovascular mortality gender difference sulfur dioxide |
| title | Gender Differences in Association between Air Pollution and Daily Mortality in the Capital of the Green Lungs of Poland–Population-Based Study with 2,953,000 Person-Years of Follow-Up |
| title_full | Gender Differences in Association between Air Pollution and Daily Mortality in the Capital of the Green Lungs of Poland–Population-Based Study with 2,953,000 Person-Years of Follow-Up |
| title_fullStr | Gender Differences in Association between Air Pollution and Daily Mortality in the Capital of the Green Lungs of Poland–Population-Based Study with 2,953,000 Person-Years of Follow-Up |
| title_full_unstemmed | Gender Differences in Association between Air Pollution and Daily Mortality in the Capital of the Green Lungs of Poland–Population-Based Study with 2,953,000 Person-Years of Follow-Up |
| title_short | Gender Differences in Association between Air Pollution and Daily Mortality in the Capital of the Green Lungs of Poland–Population-Based Study with 2,953,000 Person-Years of Follow-Up |
| title_sort | gender differences in association between air pollution and daily mortality in the capital of the green lungs of poland population based study with 2 953 000 person years of follow up |
| topic | air pollution mortality cardiovascular mortality gender difference sulfur dioxide |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/9/8/2351 |
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