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Review
. 2015 Jun;123(6):525-33.
doi: 10.1289/ehp.1408095. Epub 2015 Feb 24.

Natural-cause mortality and long-term exposure to particle components: an analysis of 19 European cohorts within the multi-center ESCAPE project

Rob Beelen  1 , Gerard Hoek, Ole Raaschou-Nielsen, Massimo Stafoggia, Zorana Jovanovic Andersen, Gudrun Weinmayr, Barbara Hoffmann, Kathrin Wolf, Evangelia Samoli, Paul H Fischer, Mark J Nieuwenhuijsen, Wei W Xun, Klea Katsouyanni, Konstantina Dimakopoulou, Alessandro Marcon, Erkki Vartiainen, Timo Lanki, Tarja Yli-Tuomi, Bente Oftedal, Per E Schwarze, Per Nafstad, Ulf De Faire, Nancy L Pedersen, Claes-Göran Östenson, Laura Fratiglioni, Johanna Penell, Michal Korek, Göran Pershagen, Kirsten Thorup Eriksen, Kim Overvad, Mette Sørensen, Marloes Eeftens, Petra H Peeters, Kees Meliefste, Meng Wang, H Bas Bueno-de-Mesquita, Dorothea Sugiri, Ursula Krämer, Joachim Heinrich, Kees de Hoogh, Timothy Key, Annette Peters, Regina Hampel, Hans Concin, Gabriele Nagel, Andrea Jaensch, Alex Ineichen, Ming-Yi Tsai, Emmanuel Schaffner, Nicole M Probst-Hensch, Christian Schindler, Martina S Ragettli, Alice Vilier, Françoise Clavel-Chapelon, Christophe Declercq, Fulvio Ricceri, Carlotta Sacerdote, Claudia Galassi, Enrica Migliore, Andrea Ranzi, Giulia Cesaroni, Chiara Badaloni, Francesco Forastiere, Michail Katsoulis, Antonia Trichopoulou, Menno Keuken, Aleksandra Jedynska, Ingeborg M Kooter, Jaakko Kukkonen, Ranjeet S Sokhi, Paolo Vineis, Bert Brunekreef
Affiliations
Review

Natural-cause mortality and long-term exposure to particle components: an analysis of 19 European cohorts within the multi-center ESCAPE project

Rob Beelen et al. Environ Health Perspect. 2015 Jun.

Abstract

Background: Studies have shown associations between mortality and long-term exposure to particulate matter air pollution. Few cohort studies have estimated the effects of the elemental composition of particulate matter on mortality.

Objectives: Our aim was to study the association between natural-cause mortality and long-term exposure to elemental components of particulate matter.

Methods: Mortality and confounder data from 19 European cohort studies were used. Residential exposure to eight a priori-selected components of particulate matter (PM) was characterized following a strictly standardized protocol. Annual average concentrations of copper, iron, potassium, nickel, sulfur, silicon, vanadium, and zinc within PM size fractions ≤ 2.5 μm (PM2.5) and ≤ 10 μm (PM10) were estimated using land-use regression models. Cohort-specific statistical analyses of the associations between mortality and air pollution were conducted using Cox proportional hazards models using a common protocol followed by meta-analysis.

Results: The total study population consisted of 291,816 participants, of whom 25,466 died from a natural cause during follow-up (average time of follow-up, 14.3 years). Hazard ratios were positive for almost all elements and statistically significant for PM2.5 sulfur (1.14; 95% CI: 1.06, 1.23 per 200 ng/m3). In a two-pollutant model, the association with PM2.5 sulfur was robust to adjustment for PM2.5 mass, whereas the association with PM2.5 mass was reduced.

Conclusions: Long-term exposure to PM2.5 sulfur was associated with natural-cause mortality. This association was robust to adjustment for other pollutants and PM2.5.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare they have no actual or potential competing financial interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Cohort locations in which elements were measured.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Estimated annual mean PM2.5 elemental composition concentrations (ng/μg3) at participant addresses in each cohort. The solid circle and bars shows the median and 25th and 75th percentiles of elemental composition concentrations; the x shows the 5th and 95th percentile values.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Adjusted hazard ratio (HR) between natural-cause mortality and (A) a 200-ng/m3 increment in PM2.5 S and (B) a 200-ng/m3 increment in PM10 S (using main model 3): results from cohort-specific analyses and from random-effects meta-analyses.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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