title: Outdoor air pollution and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Okayama, Japan.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We evaluated the association between short-term exposure to outdoor air pollution and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Japan.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied 558 residents of Okayama, Japan, who visited hospital emergency departments between January 2006 and December 2010 for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest using a time-stratified case-crossover design. We calculated city-representative average concentrations of different air pollutants and examined the association between air pollution and cardiac arrest.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Exposure to air pollution was associated with an elevated risk of cardiac arrest; for example, odds ratios was 1.17 (95% confidence interval, 1.02 to 1.33) per interquartile-range increase in suspended particulate matter concentrations in the previous 48 to 72 hours. We also observed different susceptibilities to suspended particulate matter and ozone exposures by age category.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Short-term exposure to outdoor air pollution was associated with increased risk of cardiac arrest.
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Human Ecology (Dr Yorifuji), Graduate School of Environmental and Life Science; Department of Epidemiology (Dr Suzuki), Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University, Kita-ku; and Department of Public Health and Health Policy (Dr Kashima), Institute of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Minami-ku, Hiroshima, Japan.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yorifuji
authors.forename: Etsuji
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Saori
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kashima
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000009:adverse effects*; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000009:adverse effects*; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D058687:Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010126:Ozone / Q000009:adverse effects; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000009:adverse effects
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D052638:Particulate Matter; D010126:Ozone