Outdoor pollution associated with mortality even at exposures below current standards<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
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FRIDAY, Sept. 17, 2021 (HealthDay News) \u00e2\u0080\u0093 Long-term exposure to outdoor air pollution is associated with higher mortality, even for exposures below current standards, according to a study published online Sept. 2 in The BMJ<\/em>.<\/p>\n Maciej Strak, Ph.D., from the Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, and colleagues conducted a pooled analysis of eight European cohorts (325,367 adults followed for an average of 19.5 years) to investigate the associations between air pollution and mortality.<\/p>\n The researchers found that higher exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5<\/sub>), nitrogen dioxide, and black carbon was associated with a significantly increased risk for almost all outcomes. For each 5-\u00ce\u00bcg\/m3<\/sup> increase in PM2.5<\/sub>, there was an associated 13 percent increase in natural deaths, whereas for a 10-\u00ce\u00bcg\/m3<\/sup> increase in nitrogen dioxide, there was an 8.6 percent increase in deaths. Even at low concentrations, associations with PM2.5<\/sub>, nitrogen dioxide, and black carbon remained significant. For exposures below the U.S. standard of 12 \u00ce\u00bcg\/m3<\/sup>, an increase of 5 \u00ce\u00bcg\/m3<\/sup> in PM2.5 <\/sub>was associated with a 29.6 percent increase in natural deaths.<\/p>\n “The finding of associations at low levels of air pollution and mortality also supports policies to reduce air pollution below current legal limit values,” the authors write.<\/p>\n