Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Correia, Andrew W.
• Pope, C. Arden
• Dockery, Douglas W.
• Wang, Yun
• Ezzati, Majid
• Dominici, Francesca

Titel

Effect of Air Pollution Control on Life Expectancy in the United States: An Analysis of 545 U.S. Counties for the Period from 2000 to 2007

Ist Teil von

• Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.), 2013-01, Vol.24 (1), p.23-31

Ort / Verlag

Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

Erscheinungsjahr

2013

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

MEDLINE

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Background: In recent years (2000-2007), ambient levels of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) have continued to decline as a result of interventions, but the decline has been at a slower rate than previous years (1980-2000). Whether these more recent and slower declines of PM 2.5 levels continue to improve life expectancy and whether they benefit all populations equally is unknown. Methods: We assembled a data set for 545 U.S. counties consisting of yearly county-specific average PM 2.5 , yearly county-specific life expectancy, and several potentially confounding variables measuring socioeconomic status, smoking prevalence, and demographic characteristics for the years 2000 and 2007. We used regression models to estimate the association between reductions in PM 2.5 and changes in life expectancy for the period from 2000 to 2007. Results: A decrease of 10 μg/m³ in the concentration of PM 2.5 was associated with an increase in mean life expectancy of 0.35 years (SD = 0.16 years, P = 0.033). This association was stronger in more urban and densely populated counties. Conclusions: Reductions in PM 2.5 were associated with improvements in life expectancy for the period from 2000 to 2007. Air pollution control in the last decade has continued to have a positive impact on public health.