Fine particle components and health—a systematic review and meta-analysis of epidemiological time series studies of daily mortality and hospital admissions
Richard W. Atkinsona b✉, Inga Millsc, Heather Waltond e, H Ross Andersone f
- aPopulation Health Research Institute and MRC-PHE Centre for Environment and Health, St George's, University of London, London, UK
- bPopulation Health Research Institute and MRC-PHE Centre for Environment and Health, St George’s, University of London, London, UK
- cPublic Health England, Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards, Chilton, Oxfordshire, UK
- d1] MRC-PHE Centre for Environment and Health, King's College London, London, UK [2] NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London, London, UK
- eMRC-PHE Centre for Environment and Health, King’s College London, London, UK
- f1] Population Health Research Institute and MRC-PHE Centre for Environment and Health, St George's, University of London, London, UK [2] MRC-PHE Centre for Environment and Health, King's College London, London, UK
- ✉Corresponding author
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Abstract
Short-term exposure to fine particle mass (PM) has been associated with adverse health effects, but little is known about the relative toxicity of particle components. We conducted a systematic review to quantify the associations between particle components and daily mortality and hospital admissions. Medline, Embase and Web of Knowledge were searched for time series studies of sulphate (SO4(2-)), nitrate (NO3(-)), elemental and organic carbon (EC and OC), particle number concentrations (PNC) and metals indexed to October 2013. A multi-stage sifting process identified eligible studies and effect estimates for meta-analysis. SO4(2-), NO3(-), EC and OC were positively associated with increased all-cause, cardiovascular and respiratory mortality, with the strongest associations observed for carbon: 1.30% (95% CI: 0.17%, 2.43%) increase in all-cause mortality per 1 μg/m(3). For PNC, the majority of associations were positive with confidence intervals that overlapped 0%. For metals, there were insufficient estimates for meta-analysis. There are important gaps in our knowledge of the health effects associated with short-term exposure to particle components, and the literature also lacks sufficient geographical coverage and analyses of cause-specific outcomes. The available evidence suggests, however, that both EC and secondary inorganic aerosols are associated with adverse health effects.
TL;DRThe available evidence suggests, however, that both EC and secondary inorganic aerosols are associated with adverse health effects. (Semantic Scholar)