Skip to main content
PMC home page
Environmental Health Perspectives logoLink to Environmental Health Perspectives
. 1999 Nov;107(11):873–878. doi: 10.1289/ehp.99107873

PM(10) exposure, gaseous pollutants, and daily mortality in Inchon, South Korea.

Y C Hong 1, J H Leem 1, E H Ha 1, D C Christiani 1
PMCID: PMC1566699  PMID: 10544154

Abstract

To evaluate the relative importance of various measures of particulate and gaseous air pollution as predictors of daily mortality in Inchon, South Korea, the association between total daily mortality and air pollution was investigated for a 20-month period (January 1995 through August 1996). Poisson regression was used to regress daily death counts on each air pollutant, controlling for time trends, season, and meteorologic influences such as temperature and relative humidity. Regression coefficients of a 5-day moving average of particulate matter less than or = to 10 microm in aerodynamic diameter (PM(10)) on total mortality were positively significant when considered separately and simultaneously with other pollutants in the model. PM(10) remained significant when the models were confined to cardiovascular or respiratory mortality. Sulfur dioxide (SO(2)) and carbon monoxide (CO) were significantly related to respiratory mortality in the single-pollutant model. Ozone exposure was not statistically significant with regard to mortality in the above models, and graphic analysis showed that the relationship was nonlinear. A combined index of PM(10), nitrogen dioxide, SO(2), and CO seemed to better explain the exposure-response relationship with total mortality than an individual air pollutant. Pollutants should be considered together in the risk assessment of air pollution, as opposed to measuring the risk of individual pollutants.

Full text

PDF
873

Images in this article

875Figure 1
on p.875
876Figure 2
on p.876
876Figure 3
on p.876
877Figure 4
on p.877

Selected References

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

  1. Anderson H. R., Ponce de Leon A., Bland J. M., Bower J. S., Strachan D. P. Air pollution and daily mortality in London: 1987-92. BMJ. 1996 Mar 16;312(7032):665–669. doi: 10.1136/bmj.312.7032.665. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bagnoli P., Carrozzino S., Pisani B., Righini F. Chemical characterization of the PM10 fraction of airborne particulate matter in the urban atmosphere. J Environ Pathol Toxicol Oncol. 1997;16(2-3):219–225. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Borja-Aburto V. H., Loomis D. P., Bangdiwala S. I., Shy C. M., Rascon-Pacheco R. A. Ozone, suspended particulates, and daily mortality in Mexico City. Am J Epidemiol. 1997 Feb 1;145(3):258–268. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a009099. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Carter J. D., Ghio A. J., Samet J. M., Devlin R. B. Cytokine production by human airway epithelial cells after exposure to an air pollution particle is metal-dependent. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 1997 Oct;146(2):180–188. doi: 10.1006/taap.1997.8254. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Dockery D. W., Schwartz J., Spengler J. D. Air pollution and daily mortality: associations with particulates and acid aerosols. Environ Res. 1992 Dec;59(2):362–373. doi: 10.1016/s0013-9351(05)80042-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Fairley D. The relationship of daily mortality to suspended particulates in Santa Clara County, 1980-1986. Environ Health Perspect. 1990 Nov;89:159–168. doi: 10.1289/ehp.9089159. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Kinney P. L., Ozkaynak H. Associations of daily mortality and air pollution in Los Angeles County. Environ Res. 1991 Apr;54(2):99–120. doi: 10.1016/s0013-9351(05)80094-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Li X. Y., Gilmour P. S., Donaldson K., MacNee W. In vivo and in vitro proinflammatory effects of particulate air pollution (PM10). Environ Health Perspect. 1997 Sep;105 (Suppl 5):1279–1283. doi: 10.1289/ehp.97105s51279. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Moolgavkar S. H., Luebeck E. G. A critical review of the evidence on particulate air pollution and mortality. Epidemiology. 1996 Jul;7(4):420–428. doi: 10.1097/00001648-199607000-00014. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Morozzi G., Conti R., Pampanella L., Marchetti M. C., Bucci P., Scardazza F., Manenti R., Sebastiani B. Chemical analysis and biological activity of airborne particulate matter. J Environ Pathol Toxicol Oncol. 1997;16(2-3):133–146. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Ostro B. A search for a threshold in the relationship of air pollution to mortality: a reanalysis of data on London winters. Environ Health Perspect. 1984 Dec;58:397–399. doi: 10.1289/ehp.8458397. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Pope C. A., 3rd, Bates D. V., Raizenne M. E. Health effects of particulate air pollution: time for reassessment? Environ Health Perspect. 1995 May;103(5):472–480. doi: 10.1289/ehp.95103472. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Pope C. A., 3rd, Schwartz J., Ransom M. R. Daily mortality and PM10 pollution in Utah Valley. Arch Environ Health. 1992 May-Jun;47(3):211–217. doi: 10.1080/00039896.1992.9938351. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Schimmel H., Murawski T. J. Proceedings: The relation of air pollution to mortality. J Occup Med. 1976 May;18(5):316–333. doi: 10.1097/00043764-197605000-00006. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Schwartz J. Air pollution and daily mortality in Birmingham, Alabama. Am J Epidemiol. 1993 May 15;137(10):1136–1147. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a116617. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Schwartz J. Air pollution and daily mortality: a review and meta analysis. Environ Res. 1994 Jan;64(1):36–52. doi: 10.1006/enrs.1994.1005. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Schwartz J., Dockery D. W. Increased mortality in Philadelphia associated with daily air pollution concentrations. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1992 Mar;145(3):600–604. doi: 10.1164/ajrccm/145.3.600. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Schwartz J., Dockery D. W., Neas L. M. Is daily mortality associated specifically with fine particles? J Air Waste Manag Assoc. 1996 Oct;46(10):927–939. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Schwartz J., Dockery D. W. Particulate air pollution and daily mortality in Steubenville, Ohio. Am J Epidemiol. 1992 Jan 1;135(1):12–25. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a116195. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Schwartz J., Marcus A. Mortality and air pollution in London: a time series analysis. Am J Epidemiol. 1990 Jan;131(1):185–194. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a115473. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Schwartz J. Particulate air pollution and daily mortality in Detroit. Environ Res. 1991 Dec;56(2):204–213. doi: 10.1016/s0013-9351(05)80009-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Schwartz J. Total suspended particulate matter and daily mortality in Cincinnati, Ohio. Environ Health Perspect. 1994 Feb;102(2):186–189. doi: 10.1289/ehp.94102186. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Verhoeff A. P., Hoek G., Schwartz J., van Wijnen J. H. Air pollution and daily mortality in Amsterdam. Epidemiology. 1996 May;7(3):225–230. doi: 10.1097/00001648-199605000-00002. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Wallace L. Indoor particles: a review. J Air Waste Manag Assoc. 1996 Feb;46(2):98–126. doi: 10.1080/10473289.1996.10467451. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Zmirou D., Barumandzadeh T., Balducci F., Ritter P., Laham G., Ghilardi J. P. Short term effects of air pollution on mortality in the city of Lyon, France, 1985-90. J Epidemiol Community Health. 1996 Apr;50 (Suppl 1):S30–S35. doi: 10.1136/jech.50.suppl_1.s30. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

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

RESOURCES