Lijun Wang1, Cong Liu2, Xia Meng3, Yue Niu2, Zhijing Lin2, Yunning Liu1, Jiangmei Liu1, Jinlei Qi1, Jinling You1, Lap Ah Tse4, Jianmin Chen5, Maigeng Zhou1, Renjie Chen6, Peng Yin7, Haidong Kan8. 1. National Center for Chronic and Noncommunicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100050, China. 2. School of Public Health, Key Lab of Public Health Safety of the Ministry of Education and Key Lab of Health Technology Assessment of the Ministry of Health, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China. 3. Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta 30322, GA, USA. 4. Division of Occupational and Environmental Health, JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. 5. Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China. 6. School of Public Health, Key Lab of Public Health Safety of the Ministry of Education and Key Lab of Health Technology Assessment of the Ministry of Health, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Particle Pollution and Prevention (LAP(3)), Fudan University, Shanghai 200030, China. Electronic address: chenrenjie@fudan.edu.cn. 7. National Center for Chronic and Noncommunicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100050, China. Electronic address: yinpengcdc@163.com. 8. School of Public Health, Key Lab of Public Health Safety of the Ministry of Education and Key Lab of Health Technology Assessment of the Ministry of Health, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Particle Pollution and Prevention (LAP(3)), Fudan University, Shanghai 200030, China.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Ambient sulfur dioxide (SO2) remains a major air pollutant in developing countries, but epidemiological evidence about its health effects was not abundant and inconsistent. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the associations between short-term exposure to SO2 and cause-specific mortality in China. METHODS: We conducted a nationwide time-series analysis in 272 major Chinese cities (2013-2015). We used the over-dispersed generalized linear model together with the Bayesian hierarchical model to analyze the data. Two-pollutant models were fitted to test the robustness of the associations. We conducted stratification analyses to examine potential effect modifications by age, sex and educational level. RESULTS: On average, the annual-mean SO2 concentrations was 29.8 μg/m3 in 272 cities. We observed positive and associations of SO2 with total and cardiorespiratory mortality. A 10 μg/m3 increase in two-day average concentrations of SO2 was associated with increments of 0.59% in mortality from total non-accidental causes, 0.70% from total cardiovascular diseases, 0.55% from total respiratory diseases, 0.64% from hypertension disease, 0.65% from coronary heart disease, 0.58% from stroke, and 0.69% from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In two-pollutant models, there were no significant differences between single-pollutant model and two-pollutant model estimates with fine particulate matter, carbon monoxide and ozone, but the estimates decreased substantially after adjusting for nitrogen dioxide, especially in South China. The associations were stronger in warmer cities, in older people and in less-educated subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: This nationwide study demonstrated associations of daily SO2 concentrations with increased total and cardiorespiratory mortality, but the associations might not be independent from NO2.
BACKGROUND: Ambient sulfur dioxide (SO2) remains a major air pollutant in developing countries, but epidemiological evidence about its health effects was not abundant and inconsistent. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the associations between short-term exposure to SO2 and cause-specific mortality in China. METHODS: We conducted a nationwide time-series analysis in 272 major Chinese cities (2013-2015). We used the over-dispersed generalized linear model together with the Bayesian hierarchical model to analyze the data. Two-pollutant models were fitted to test the robustness of the associations. We conducted stratification analyses to examine potential effect modifications by age, sex and educational level. RESULTS: On average, the annual-mean SO2 concentrations was 29.8 μg/m3 in 272 cities. We observed positive and associations of SO2 with total and cardiorespiratory mortality. A 10 μg/m3 increase in two-day average concentrations of SO2 was associated with increments of 0.59% in mortality from total non-accidental causes, 0.70% from total cardiovascular diseases, 0.55% from total respiratory diseases, 0.64% from hypertension disease, 0.65% from coronary heart disease, 0.58% from stroke, and 0.69% from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In two-pollutant models, there were no significant differences between single-pollutant model and two-pollutant model estimates with fine particulate matter, carbon monoxide and ozone, but the estimates decreased substantially after adjusting for nitrogen dioxide, especially in South China. The associations were stronger in warmer cities, in older people and in less-educated subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: This nationwide study demonstrated associations of daily SO2 concentrations with increased total and cardiorespiratory mortality, but the associations might not be independent from NO2.
Authors: Tingting Ye; Suying Guo; Yang Xie; Zhaoyue Chen; Michael J Abramson; Jane Heyworth; Simon Hales; Alistair Woodward; Michelle Bell; Yuming Guo; Shanshan Li Journal: Ecotoxicol Environ Saf Date: 2021-06-30 Impact factor: 6.291