Asia: Changing Times and Changing Problems
2008
Air Pollution and Health in Asia
Sample size: 30000000
Editorial
Evidence: moderate
Author Information
Author(s): Frank E. Speizer, Aaron Cohen, Sumi Mehta
Primary Institution: Harvard Medical School
Conclusion
The studies indicate that air pollution significantly impacts daily mortality rates in major Asian cities.
Supporting Evidence
- Air pollution contributed to approximately 800,000 deaths and 6.4 million lost life-years worldwide in 2000.
- Major Asian cities now exceed the WHO air quality guideline for PM10 levels.
- A 10-μg/m3 increase in PM10 level was associated with a 0.6% increase in daily mortality rates.
Takeaway
Air pollution in big cities in Asia is making people sick and causing deaths, even if the increases seem small.
Methodology
The studies used mortality and air pollution data in a coordinated multicity analysis.
Limitations
Only four cities were studied, limiting the generalizability of the results.
Participant Demographics
The studies focused on urban populations in four major Asian cities.
Statistical Information
Confidence Interval
0.3–0.9
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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