title: The Effects of Coarse Particles on Daily Mortality: A Case-Crossover Study in a Subtropical City, Taipei, Taiwan.
abstract: Many studies have examined the effects of air pollution on daily mortality over the past two decades. However, information on the relationship between levels of coarse particles (PM2.5-10) and daily mortality is relatively sparse due to the limited availability of monitoring data. Furthermore, the results are inconsistent. In the current study, the association between coarse particle levels and daily mortality in Taipei, Taiwan's largest city, which has a subtropical climate, was undertaken for the period 2006-2008 using a time-stratified case-crossover analysis. For the single pollutant model (without adjustment for other pollutants), PM2.5-10 showed statistically significant association with total mortality both on warm and cool days, with an interquartile range increase associated with a 11% (95% CI = 6%-17%) and 4% (95% CI = 1%-7%) rise in number of total deaths, respectively. In two-pollutant models, PM2.5-10 remained significant effects on total mortality after the inclusion of SO₂ and O₃ both on warm and cool days. We observed no significant associations between PM2.5-10 and daily mortality from respiratory diseases both on warm and cool days. For daily mortality from circulatory diseases, the effect of PM2.5-10 remained significant when SO₂ or O₃ was added in the regression model both on warm and cool days. Future studies of this type in cities with varying climates and cultures are needed.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan. cmhkmu@gmail.com.|Graduate Institute of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan. cmhkmu@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Meng-Hsuan
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan. chiu358@yahoo.com.tw.
authors.forename: Hui-Fen
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan. chunyuh@kmu.edu.tw.|Division of Environmental Health and Occupational Medicine, National Health Research Institute, Miaoli 350, Taiwan. chunyuh@kmu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Chun-Yuh
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000032:analysis*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000401:mortality*; D002947:Cities; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D010316:Particle Size; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000633:toxicity*; D012120:Respiration Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000401:mortality*; D013624:Taiwan
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D052638:Particulate Matter
keywords: air pollution; case-crossover; coarse particulate; daily mortality