J Prev Med Public Health.  2013 Jan;46(1):10-18.

PM10 Exposure and Non-accidental Mortality in Asian Populations: A Meta-analysis of Time-series and Case-crossover Studies

• Park HY
• Bae S
• Hong YC

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
We investigated the association between particulate matter less than 10 microm in aerodynamic diameter (PM10) exposure and non-accidental mortality in Asian populations by meta-analysis, using both time-series and case-crossover analysis.
METHODS
Among the 819 published studies searched from PubMed and EMBASE using key words related to PM10 exposure and non-accidental mortality in Asian countries, 8 time-series and 4 case-crossover studies were selected for meta-analysis after exclusion by selection criteria. We obtained the relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of non-accidental mortality per 10 microg/m3 increase of daily PM10 from each study. We used Q statistics to test the heterogeneity of the results among the different studies and evaluated for publication bias using Begg funnel plot and Egger test.
RESULTS
Testing for heterogeneity showed significance (p<0.001); thus, we applied a random-effects model. RR (95% CI) per 10 microg/m3 increase of daily PM10 for both the time-series and case-crossover studies combined, time-series studies relative risk only, and case-crossover studies only, were 1.0047 (1.0033 to 1.0062), 1.0057 (1.0029 to 1.0086), and 1.0027 (1.0010 to 1.0043), respectively. The non-significant Egger test suggested that this analysis was not likely to have a publication bias.
CONCLUSIONS
We found a significant positive association between PM10 exposure and non-accidental mortality among Asian populations. Continued investigations are encouraged to contribute to the health impact assessment and public health management of air pollution in Asian countries.

Keyword

PM10; Non-accidental mortality; Asia; Meta-analysis

MeSH Terms

Air Pollutants/*chemistry
Asian Continental Ancestry Group
Cross-Over Studies
Databases, Factual
*Environmental Exposure
Humans
Models, Theoretical
*Mortality
Particulate Matter/*chemistry
Time Factors
Air Pollutants
Particulate Matter