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. 2021 Oct 11;31(4):722-724.
doi: 10.1093/eurpub/ckab034.

Airborne pollen concentrations and daily mortality from respiratory and cardiovascular causes

Jouni J K Jaakkola  1   2   3   4 , Simo-Pekka Kiihamäki  1 , Simo Näyhä  1 , Niilo R I Ryti  1   3 , Timo T Hugg  1   2   3 , Maritta S Jaakkola  1   2   3
Affiliations

Airborne pollen concentrations and daily mortality from respiratory and cardiovascular causes

Jouni J K Jaakkola et al. Eur J Public Health. .

Abstract

We conducted a time-series analysis of the relations between daily levels of allergenic pollen and mortality in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area with 153 378 deaths; 9742 from respiratory and 57 402 from cardiovascular causes. Daily (average) pollen counts of alder, birch, mugwort and grass were measured. In quasi-Poisson regression analysis, abundant alder pollen increased the risk of non-accidental deaths with an adjusted cumulative mortality rate ratio (acMRR) of 1.10 (95% CI 1.01-1.19) and of deaths from respiratory-diseases with acMRR of 1.78 (95% CI 1.19-2.65). Abundant mugwort pollen increased cardiovascular mortality (1.41, 1.02-1.95). These findings identify an important global public health problem.

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