[Spatial analysis of air pollution and lung cancer incidence and mortality in 7 metropolitan cities in Korea].
OBJECTIVE
We aimed to assess the relationship between long-term exposure to air pollution and lung cancer in the Republic of Korea.


METHODS
Using the Annual Report of Ambient Air Quality in Korea, Annual Report of National Cancer Registration, and Annual Report on the Cause of Death Statistics, we calculated the standardized mortality ratio (SMR) and standardized incidence ratio (SIR) of lung cancer for both sexes in 74 areas from 7 Korean metropolitan cities. We performed random intercept,Poisson regression using empirical Bayes method.


RESULTS
Both SMRs and SIRs in the 7 metropolitan cities were higher in women than in men. Mean SIRs were 99.0 for males and 107.0 for females. The association between PM10 and lung cancer risk differed according to gender. PM10 was not associated with the risk of lung cancer in males, but both incidence and mortality of lung cancer were positively associated with PM10 in females. The estimated percentage increases in the rate of female lung cancer mortality and incidence were 27% and 65% at the highest PM10 category (>or=70 microgram/m3), compared to the referent category (<50 microgram/m3).


CONCLUSIONS
Long-term exposure to PM10 was significantly associated with female lung cancer incidence in 7 Korean metropolitan cities. Further study is undergoing to estimate the relative risk of PM10 using multi-level analysis for controlling individual and regional confounders such as smoking and socioeconomic position.
Hwang
Seung-Sik
SS
Division of Cancer Registration and Epidemiology, National Cancer Center, Korea.
Lee
Jin-Hee
JH
Jung
Gyu-Won
GW
Lim
Jeong-Hun
JH
Kwon
Ho-Jang
HJ
D000397:Air Pollution / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality; D008297:Male; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014504:Urban Health