title: The associations between ambient air pollution and adult respiratory mortality in 32 major Chinese cities, 2006-2010.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  China has experienced increasingly severe levels of air pollution in the past decades, yet studies on the health effects of air pollution in China at a national study level, remain limited. This study assess the sub-chronic effect of ambient air pollution on respiratory mortality in the 32 largest Chinese cities.
  
  
  METHODS
  We employ two-way fixed effects panel data analysis and monthly air pollution and mortality panel data. We estimate associations between monthly respiratory mortality and air pollution; pollution is defined as particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter <10μm. We adjust for city characteristics, seasonality (monthly effects), and weather conditions (precipitation and temperature). We examine the associations between monthly injury mortality and air pollution to check for robustness.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results show positive and statistically significant associations of air pollution with respiratory mortality. During the study period (2006-2010) a 10μg/m(3) increase in monthly PM10 concentration is associated with a 1.05% (95% CI, 0.08-2.04%) increase in adult respiratory mortality rate. The air pollution effect is the most salient in northern cities (with central heating system) during the cold season (October-April); a 10μg/m(3) increase in monthly PM10 concentrations is associated with a 1.62% (95% CI, 0.22-3.46%) increase in the elderly respiratory mortality rate. There is no statistically significant association between the young adult respiratory mortality and air pollution.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The elderly respiratory mortality rate in China is positively and statistically significantly associated with air pollution. The effect is largest in northern cities during cold months when coal is burned for heating.
authors.affiliation: The National Center for Chronic and Non-communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Maigeng
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Division of Social Science, Division of Environment and Economics Department, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Guojun
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: The National Center for Chronic and Non-communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yunning
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: The National Center for Chronic and Non-communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: The National Center for Chronic and Non-communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yichong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Haidong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kan
authors.affiliation: Xiyuan Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Maorong
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: An
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.affiliation: Department of Economics, Ball State University, Muncie, USA. Electronic address: mfan@bsu.edu.
authors.forename: Maoyong
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D002947:Cities / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005843:Geography; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010316:Particle Size; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000633:toxicity*; D012140:Respiratory Tract Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012621:Seasons; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D052638:Particulate Matter
keywords: Air pollution; Air pollution index; China; PM(10); Respiratory mortality