Short-term exposure to reduced specific-size ambient particulate matter increase the risk of cause-specific cardiovascular disease: A national-wide evidence from hospital admissions

Abstract

Evidence for the health effects of ambient PM₁ (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter ≤ 1 µm) pollution is limited, and it remains unclear whether a smaller particulate matter has a greater impact on human health. We conducted a time-series study in 184 major cities by extracting daily hospital data on admissions for ischemic heart disease, heart failure, heart rhythm disturbances, and stroke between 2014 and 2017 from a medical insurance claims database of 0.28 billion beneficiaries. City-specific associations were estimated with over-dispersed generalized additive models. A random-effects meta-analysis was used to estimate regional and national average associations. We conducted stratified and meta-regression analyses to explore potential effect modifiers of the association. We recorded 8.83 million cardiovascular admissions during the study period. At the national-average level, a 10-μg/m³ increase in same-day PM₁, PM_2.5(particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 µm) and PM₁₀(particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter ≤ 10 µm) concentrations corresponded to a 1.14% (95% confidence interval 0.88-1.41%), 0.55% (0.40-0.70%), and 0.45% (0.36-0.55%) increase in cardiovascular admissions, respectively. PM₁ exposure was also positively associated with all cardiovascular disease subtypes, including ischemic heart disease (1.28% change; 0.99-1.56%), heart failure (1.30% change; 0.70-1.91%), heart rhythm disturbances (1.11% change; 0.65-1.58%), and ischemic stroke (1.29% change; 0.88-1.71%). The associations between PM₁ and cardiovascular admissions were stronger in cities with lower PM₁ levels, higher air temperatures and relative humidity, as well as in subgroups with elder age (all P < 0.05). This study provides robust evidence of short-term associations between PM₁ concentrations and increased hospital admissions for all major cardiovascular diseases in China. Our findings suggest a greater short-term impact on cardiovascular risk from PM₁ in comparison to PM_2.5 and PM₁₀.

Keywords: Air pollution; Cardiovascular disease; Fine particulate matter; PM(1); Time-series.