Skip to main content
PMC home page
Environmental Health Perspectives logoLink to Environmental Health Perspectives
. 2004 Apr;112(5):610–615. doi: 10.1289/ehp.6684

Urban air pollution and mortality in a cohort of Norwegian men.

Per Nafstad 1, Lise Lund Håheim 1, Torbjørn Wisløff 1, Frederick Gram 1, Bente Oftedal 1, Ingar Holme 1, Ingvar Hjermann 1, Paul Leren 1
PMCID: PMC1241929  PMID: 15064169

Abstract

We investigated the association between total and cause-specific mortality and individual measures of long-term air pollution exposure in a cohort of Norwegian men followed from 1972-1973 through 1998. Data from a follow-up study on cardiovascular risk factors among 16,209 men 40-49 years of age living in Oslo, Norway, in 1972-1973 were linked with data from the Norwegian Death Register and with estimates of average yearly air pollution levels at the participants' home addresses from 1974 to 1998. Cox proportional-hazards regression was used to estimate associations between exposure and total and cause-specific mortality. During the follow-up time 4,227 men died from a disease corresponding to an ICD-9 (International Classification of Diseases, Revision 9) code < 800. Controlling for a number of potential confounders, the adjusted risk ratio for dying was 1.08 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.06-1.11] for a 10- microg/m3 increase in average exposure to nitrogen oxides (NOx) at the home address from 1974 through 1978. Corresponding adjusted risk ratios for dying from a respiratory disease other than lung cancer were 1.16 (95% CI, 1.06-1.26); from lung cancer, 1.11 (95% CI, 1.03-1.19); from ischemic heart diseases, 1.08 (95% CI, 1.03-1.12); and from cerebrovascular diseases, 1.04 (95% CI, 0.94-1.15). The findings indicate that urban air pollution may increase the risk of dying. The effect seemed to be strongest for deaths from respiratory diseases other than lung cancer.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (135.4 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Archer V. E. Air pollution and fatal lung disease in three Utah counties. Arch Environ Health. 1990 Nov-Dec;45(6):325–334. doi: 10.1080/00039896.1990.10118751. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Beeson W. L., Abbey D. E., Knutsen S. F. Long-term concentrations of ambient air pollutants and incident lung cancer in California adults: results from the AHSMOG study.Adventist Health Study on Smog. Environ Health Perspect. 1998 Dec;106(12):813–822. doi: 10.1289/ehp.106-1533247. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bellander T., Berglind N., Gustavsson P., Jonson T., Nyberg F., Pershagen G., Järup L. Using geographic information systems to assess individual historical exposure to air pollution from traffic and house heating in Stockholm. Environ Health Perspect. 2001 Jun;109(6):633–639. doi: 10.1289/ehp.01109633. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Clancy Luke, Goodman Pat, Sinclair Hamish, Dockery Douglas W. Effect of air-pollution control on death rates in Dublin, Ireland: an intervention study. Lancet. 2002 Oct 19;360(9341):1210–1214. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(02)11281-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. De Leon Samantha F., Thurston George D., Ito Kazuhiko. Contribution of respiratory disease to nonrespiratory mortality associations with air pollution. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2003 Jan 24;167(8):1117–1123. doi: 10.1164/rccm.200205-409OC. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Dockery D. W. Epidemiologic evidence of cardiovascular effects of particulate air pollution. Environ Health Perspect. 2001 Aug;109 (Suppl 4):483–486. doi: 10.1289/ehp.01109s4483. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Dockery D. W., Pope C. A., 3rd, Xu X., Spengler J. D., Ware J. H., Fay M. E., Ferris B. G., Jr, Speizer F. E. An association between air pollution and mortality in six U.S. cities. N Engl J Med. 1993 Dec 9;329(24):1753–1759. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199312093292401. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Gram Frederick, Nafstad Per, Håheim Lise Lund. Estimating residential air pollution exposure among citizens in Oslo 1974-1998 using a geographical information system. J Environ Monit. 2003 Aug;5(4):541–546. doi: 10.1039/b303500j. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Hedley Anthony Johnson, Wong Chit-Ming, Thach Thuan Quoc, Ma Stefan, Lam Tai-Hing, Anderson Hugh Ross. Cardiorespiratory and all-cause mortality after restrictions on sulphur content of fuel in Hong Kong: an intervention study. Lancet. 2002 Nov 23;360(9346):1646–1652. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(02)11612-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Hoek G., Fischer P., Van Den Brandt P., Goldbohm S., Brunekreef B. Estimation of long-term average exposure to outdoor air pollution for a cohort study on mortality. J Expo Anal Environ Epidemiol. 2001 Nov-Dec;11(6):459–469. doi: 10.1038/sj.jea.7500189. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Hoek Gerard, Brunekreef Bert, Goldbohm Sandra, Fischer Paul, van den Brandt Piet A. Association between mortality and indicators of traffic-related air pollution in the Netherlands: a cohort study. Lancet. 2002 Oct 19;360(9341):1203–1209. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(02)11280-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Håheim L. L., Holme I., Hjermann I., Leren P. Smoking habits and risk of fatal stroke: 18 years follow up of the Oslo Study. J Epidemiol Community Health. 1996 Dec;50(6):621–624. doi: 10.1136/jech.50.6.621. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Langholz Bryan, Ebi Kristie L., Thomas Duncan C., Peters John M., London Stephanie J. Traffic density and the risk of childhood leukemia in a Los Angeles case-control study. Ann Epidemiol. 2002 Oct;12(7):482–487. doi: 10.1016/s1047-2797(01)00317-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Lebowitz M. D. Epidemiological studies of the respiratory effects of air pollution. Eur Respir J. 1996 May;9(5):1029–1054. doi: 10.1183/09031936.96.09051029. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Leren P., Askevold E. M., Foss O. P., Froili A., Grymyr D., Helgeland A., Hjermann I., Holme I., Lund-Larsen P. G., Norum K. R. The Oslo study. Cardiovascular disease in middle-aged and young Oslo men. Acta Med Scand Suppl. 1975;588:1–38. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Magari Shannon R., Schwartz Joel, Williams Paige L., Hauser Russ, Smith Thomas J., Christiani David C. The association of particulate air metal concentrations with heart rate variability. Environ Health Perspect. 2002 Sep;110(9):875–880. doi: 10.1289/ehp.02110875. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Magnus P., Nafstad P., Oie L., Carlsen K. C., Becher G., Kongerud J., Carlsen K. H., Samuelsen S. O., Botten G., Bakketeig L. S. Exposure to nitrogen dioxide and the occurrence of bronchial obstruction in children below 2 years. Int J Epidemiol. 1998 Dec;27(6):995–999. doi: 10.1093/ije/27.6.995. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Mannino David M. COPD: epidemiology, prevalence, morbidity and mortality, and disease heterogeneity. Chest. 2002 May;121(5 Suppl):121S–126S. doi: 10.1378/chest.121.5_suppl.121s. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Nafstad P., Håheim L. L., Oftedal B., Gram F., Holme I., Hjermann I., Leren P. Lung cancer and air pollution: a 27 year follow up of 16 209 Norwegian men. Thorax. 2003 Dec;58(12):1071–1076. doi: 10.1136/thorax.58.12.1071. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Peters A., Dockery D. W., Muller J. E., Mittleman M. A. Increased particulate air pollution and the triggering of myocardial infarction. Circulation. 2001 Jun 12;103(23):2810–2815. doi: 10.1161/01.cir.103.23.2810. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Pope C. A., 3rd Respiratory hospital admissions associated with PM10 pollution in Utah, Salt Lake, and Cache Valleys. Arch Environ Health. 1991 Mar-Apr;46(2):90–97. doi: 10.1080/00039896.1991.9937434. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Pope C. A., 3rd, Thun M. J., Namboodiri M. M., Dockery D. W., Evans J. S., Speizer F. E., Heath C. W., Jr Particulate air pollution as a predictor of mortality in a prospective study of U.S. adults. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 1995 Mar;151(3 Pt 1):669–674. doi: 10.1164/ajrccm/151.3_Pt_1.669. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Pope C. Arden, 3rd, Burnett Richard T., Thun Michael J., Calle Eugenia E., Krewski Daniel, Ito Kazuhiko, Thurston George D. Lung cancer, cardiopulmonary mortality, and long-term exposure to fine particulate air pollution. JAMA. 2002 Mar 6;287(9):1132–1141. doi: 10.1001/jama.287.9.1132. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Raaschou-Nielsen O., Hertel O., Thomsen B. L., Olsen J. H. Air pollution from traffic at the residence of children with cancer. Am J Epidemiol. 2001 Mar 1;153(5):433–443. doi: 10.1093/aje/153.5.433. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Reynolds Peggy, Von Behren Julie, Gunier Robert B., Goldberg Debbie E., Hertz Andrew, Smith Daniel. Traffic patterns and childhood cancer incidence rates in California, United States. Cancer Causes Control. 2002 Sep;13(7):665–673. doi: 10.1023/a:1019579430978. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Sunyer J., Basagaña X., Belmonte J., Antó J. M. Effect of nitrogen dioxide and ozone on the risk of dying in patients with severe asthma. Thorax. 2002 Aug;57(8):687–693. doi: 10.1136/thorax.57.8.687. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Environmental Health Perspectives are provided here courtesy of National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

RESOURCES