Ambient Air Pollution and Health Impact in China: A Review Based on Chinese Survey

摘要

Background/Aim For the exposure-effect relationship of air pollution with health effect is non-linear, and the air pollution levels in developed countries were usually low (PM2.5 mostly below 40 μg/m3), the results from developed countries may be not suitable in China where PM2.5 levels were usually more than 120 μg/m3. Methods and Results We summary the results of our studies as following: 1) Air Pollution and Lung Cancer: Based on a cohort study of Northern China which a total of 39,054 participants aged 40-89 years were followed from 1998-2009, ambient PM10 was positively associated with lung cancer mortality (HR per each 10 μg/m3 = 1.65, 95% CI, 1.52-1.80), which was much higher than the IARC report (HR=1.08, 95%CI:1.00-1.07). 2) Air Pollution and CVDs in Chinese: Based on a cross-sectional study of 24,845 participants aged 18-74 years old, from 33 communities in Northeastern Chinese Cities, the adjusted odds ratio for stroke increased by 1.16 (95% CI, 1.03-1.30) per 19 μg/ m3 increase in PM10. The associations of air pollutants with blood pressure were much stronger in populations with prehypertension than in the hypertensives. Diabetes is the most sensitive indicators for the impact of air pollutants on human health. 3) Air Pollution and Respiratory Health in Children: Study on 31,049 Chinese children, ages 2-14 years old in Seven Northeastern Cities during 2008-2009 found that 10 μg/m3 increase of PM10 resulted to a 38% (OR=1.35; 95%CI: 1.04-1.79) risk excess for asthma in children. The increased odds of lung function impairment ranged from 5% (aOR=1.05; 95%CI: 1.0$11.10) for FVC < 85% predicted per 46.3 mg/m3 for 03 to 81% (aOR=1.81; 95%CI: 1.44, 2.28) for FEV1 < 85% predicted per 30.6 mg/m3 for PM10. Conclusions All these studies may prove to be effective preventative measures that could save lives and improve its quality, while reducing the economic and public health burden that plagues China and other industrialized nations.