Grantee Research Project Results
Hospital admissions and chemical composition of fine particle air pollution.
Citation:
Bell ML, Ebisu K, Peng RD, Samet JM, Dominici F. Hospital admissions and chemical composition of fine particle air pollution. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine 2009;179(12):1115-1120.
Abstract:
RATIONALE: There are unexplained geographical and seasonal differences in the short-term effects of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) on human health. The hypothesis has been advanced to include the possibility that such differences might be due to variations in the PM2.5 chemical composition, but evidence supporting this hypothesis is lacking. OBJECTIVES: To examine whether variation in the relative risks (RR) of hospitalization associated with ambient exposure to PM2.5 total mass reflects differences in PM2.5 chemical composition. METHODS: We linked two national datasets by county and by season: (1) long-term average concentrations of PM2.5 chemical components for 2000-2005 and (2) RRs of cardiovascular and respiratory hospitalizations for persons 65 years or older associated with a 10-μg/m3 increase in PM2.5 total mass on the same day for 106 U.S. counties for 1999 through 2005. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: We found a positive and statistically significant association between county-specific estimates of the short-term effects of PM2.5 on cardiovascular and respiratory hospitalizations and county-specific levels of vanadium, elemental carbon, or nickel PM2.5 content. CONCLUSIONS: Communities with higher PM2.5 content of nickel, vanadium, and elemental carbon and/or their related sources were found to have higher risk of hospitalizations associated with short-term exposure to PM2.5.The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.