Increased Risk of Respiratory Mortality Associated with the High-Tech Manufacturing Industry: A 26-Year Study.
Global high-tech manufacturers are mainly located in newly industrialized countries, raising concerns about adverse health consequences from industrial pollution for people living nearby. We investigated the ecological association between respiratory mortality and the development of Taiwan's high-tech manufacturing, taking into account industrialization and socioeconomic development, for 19 cities and counties-6 in the science park group and 13 in the control group-from 1982 to 2007. We applied a linear mixed-effects model to analyze how science park development over time is associated with age-adjusted and sex-specific mortality rates for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Asthma and female COPD mortality rates decreased in both groups, but they decreased 9%-16% slower in the science park group. Male COPD mortality rates increased in both groups, but the rate increased 10% faster in the science park group. Science park development over time was a significant predictor of death from asthma (p ≤ 0.0001) and COPD (p = 0.0212). The long-term development of clustered high-tech manufacturing may negatively affect nearby populations, constraining health advantages that were anticipated, given overall progress in living standards, knowledge, and health services. National governments should incorporate the long-term health effects on local populations into environmental impact assessments.
Takemi Program in International Health, Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA. roting@ntu.edu.tw.
Ro-Ting
RT
Lin
Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA. dchris@hsph.harvard.edu.|Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA. dchris@hsph.harvard.edu.
David C
DC
Christiani
Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA. ikawachi@hsph.harvard.edu.
Ichiro
I
Kawachi
Research Center for Humanities and Social Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan. tachien@gate.sinica.edu.tw.
Ta-Chien
TC
Chan
Institute of Population Health Sciences, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli County 35053, Taiwan. chiangp@nhri.org.tw.
Po-Huang
PH
Chiang
Institute of Occupational Medicine and Industrial Hygiene, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10055, Taiwan. ccchan@ntu.edu.tw.|Global Health Center, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10055, Taiwan. ccchan@ntu.edu.tw.
Chang-Chuan
CC
Chan
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001249:Asthma / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000401:mortality*; D002423:Cause of Death / Q000639:trends*; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D066192:Manufacturing Industry / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology
asthma; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; economic development; environment and public health; industrial development; socioeconomic factors