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. 2024 Nov 20;137(22):2726-2733.
doi: 10.1097/CM9.0000000000002974. Epub 2024 Jan 18.

Related health burden with the improvement of air quality across China

Huaiyue Xu  1 , Qing Wang  1 , Huanhuan Zhu  1 , Yayi Zhang  1   2 , Runmei Ma  1 , Jie Ban  1 , Yiting Liu  1 , Chen Chen  1 , Tiantian Li  1
Affiliations

Related health burden with the improvement of air quality across China

Huaiyue Xu et al. Chin Med J (Engl). .

Abstract

Background: Substantial progress in air pollution control has brought considerable health benefits in China, but little is known about the spatio-temporal trends of economic burden from air pollution. This study aimed to explore their spatio-temporal features of disease burden from air pollution in China to provide policy recommendations for efficiently reducing the air pollution and related disease burden in an era of a growing economy.

Methods: Using the Global Burden of Disease method and willingness to pay method, we estimated fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) and/or ozone (O 3 ) related premature mortality and its economic burden across China, and explored their spatio-temporal trends between 2005 and 2017.

Results: In 2017, we estimated that the premature mortality and economic burden related to the two pollutants were RMB 0.94 million (68.49 per 100,000) and 1170.31 billion yuan (1.41% of the national gross domestic product [GDP]), respectively. From 2005 to 2017, the total premature mortality was decreasing with the air quality improvement, but the economic burden was increasing along with the economic growth. And the economic growth has contributed more to the growth of economic costs than the economic burden decrease brought by the air quality improvement. The premature mortality and economic burden from O 3 in the total loss from the two pollutants was substantially lower than that of PM 2.5 , but it was rapidly growing. The O 3 -contribution was highest in the Yangtze River Delta region, the Fen-Wei Plain region, and some western regions. The proportion of economic burden from PM 2.5 and O 3 to GDP significantly declined from 2005 to 2017 and showed a decreasing trend pattern from northeast to southwest.

Conclusion: The disease burden from O 3 is lower than that of PM 2.5 , the O 3 -contribution has a significantly increasing trend with the growth of economy and O 3 concentration.

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Conflict of interest statement

None.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Annual average concentrations (A) and premature mortality (B) of PM2.5 and O3 in the key regions from 2005 to 2017. BTH: Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei; FWP: Fen-Wei Plain; O3: Ozone; PRD: Pearl River Delta; PM2.5: Fine particulate matter; SC: Sichuan-Chongqing; YRD: Yangtze River Delta.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Changing trends of premature mortality (A) caused by PM2.5 and O3 and its economic loss (B) across China (the marked percentages indicate the contribution of O3 to the overall premature mortality and economic loss). O3: Ozone; PM2.5: Fine particulate matter.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Contribution of each driving factor to the change in economic cost of premature mortality due to ambient PM2.5 and O3 (the lengths indicate the contribution of each driving factor to the change in the economic loss; the marked percentages show the contribution as a proportion of the cost in 2005 or 2013). O3: Ozone; PM2.5: Fine particulate matter.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Economic burden of premature mortality due to ambient PM2.5 and O3 of each province in 2005 (A), 2010 (B), 2015 (C), and 2017 (D). O3: Ozone; PM2.5: Fine particulate matter.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Proportion of economic loss from deaths caused by ambient PM2.5 and O3 to GDP of each province in 2005 (A), 2010 (B), 2015 (C), and 2017 (D). GDP: Gross domestic product; O3: Ozone; PM2.5: Fine particulate matter.
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