Temporal variation of PM_2.5-associated health effects in Shijiazhuang, Hebei

Highlights

•Annual mean PM_2.5 in Shijiazhuang were 87, 95, and 82 µg/m³ in 2015–2017.

•Health risk of cardiovascular system was higher than respiratory system.

•Premature mortality attributed to PM_2.5 was 5088 people in 2017.

•ΔMort and YLL reduced by 84.2% and 84.6% when PM_2.5 reduced to 10 µg/m³.

•Health risks due to PM_2.5 were severe in Shijiazhuang in 2015–2017.

Abstract

Shijiazhuang is one of the cities in the North China Plain. In recent decades, this city has experienced high levels of fine particulate matter (PM_2.5), which have potentially significant effects on human health. In this study, the health effects of PM_2.5 exposure in Shijiazhuang were estimated by applying an integrated exposure-response model. Premature mortality, years of life lost (YLL), and the mortality benefits linked to reduced levels of PM_2.5 were quantified for the period 2015–2017. In 2015, 2016, and 2017, cerebrovascular diseases caused the highest premature mortality (2432, 2449, and 2483, respectively), followed by ischemic heart diseases (1391, 1479, and 1493, respectively), lung cancer (639,660, and 639, respectively), and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (533, 519, and 473, respectively). Notably, the total number of premature deaths caused by PM_2.5 exposure in Shijiazhuang in 2015, 2016, and 2017 were 4994, 5107, and 5088, respectively. Moreover, the YLL in the same years were 47001, 47880 and 47381, respectively. Interestingly, the YLL per 1000 females was lower than that per 1000 males. Finally, we noted that premature mortality and YLL decreased by 84.2% and 84.6% when the PM_2.5 levels diminished to 10 µg/m³. Overall, the results of this study improve our understanding of how high PM_2.5 concentrations affect human health and suggest the application of more stringent measures in Shijiazhuang to alleviate the associated health risks.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

PM_2.5 / Health effects / Integrated exposure-response model / Shijiazhuang

References

[1] Anenberg S C, Horowitz L W, Tong D Q, West J J (2010). An estimate of the global burden of anthropogenic ozone and fine particulate matter on premature human mortality using atmospheric modeling. Environmental Health Perspectives, 118(9): 1189–1195

[2] Apte J S, Brauer M, Cohen A J, Ezzati M, Pope C A (2018). Ambient PM_2.5 reduces global and regional life expectancy. Environmental Science & Technology Letters, 5(9): 546–551

[3] Apte J S, Marshall J D, Cohen A J, Brauer M (2015). Addressing global mortality from ambient PM_2.5. Environmental Science & Technology, 49(13): 8057–8066

[4] Burnett R T, Pope C A, Ezzati M, Olives C, Lim S S, Mehta S, Shin H H, Singh G, Hubbell B, Brauer M, Anderson H R, Smith K R, Balmes J R, Bruce N G, Kan H, Laden F, Prüss-Ustün A, Turner M C, Gapstur S M, Diver W R, Cohen A (2014). An integrated risk function for estimating the global burden of disease attributable to ambient fine particulate matter exposure. Environmental Health Perspectives, 122(4): 397–403

[5] Chen H, Lin Y, Su Q, Cheng L (2017). Spatial variation of multiple air pollutants and their potential contributions to all-cause, respiratory, and cardiovascular mortality across China in 2015–2016. Atmospheric Environment, 168: 23–35

[6] Chen Z H, Cheng S Y, Li J B, Guo X R, Wang W H, Chen D S (2008). Relationship between atmospheric pollution processes and synoptic pressure patterns in northern China. Atmospheric Environment, 42(24): 6078–6087

[7] Cohen A J, Brauer M, Burnett R, Anderson H R, Frostad J, Estep K, Balakrishnan K, Brunekreef B, Dandona L, Dandona R, Feigin V, Freedman G, Hubbell B, Jobling A, Kan H, Knibbs L, Liu Y, Martin R, Morawska L, Pope C A, Shin H, Straif K, Shaddick G, Thomas M, Van Dingenen R, Van Donkelaar A, Vos T, Murray C J L, Forouzanfar M H (2017). Estimates and 25-year trends of the global burden of disease attributable to ambient air pollution: An analysis of data from the Global Burden of Diseases Study 2015. Lancet, 389(10082): 1907–1918

[8] Evans J, Van Donkelaar A, Martin R V, Burnett R, Rainham D G, Birkett N J, Krewski D (2013). Estimates of global mortality attributable to particulate air pollution using satellite imagery. Environmental Research, 120: 33–42

[9] Fang D, Wang Q G, Li H, Yu Y, Lu Y, Qian X (2016). Mortality effects assessment of ambient PM_2.5 pollution in the 74 leading cities of China. Science of the Total Environment, 569–570: 1545–1552

[10] Garaga R, Sahu S K, Kota S H (2018). A review of air quality modeling studies in india: Local and regional scale. Current Pollution Reports, 4(2): 59–73

[11] Ghude S D, Chate D M, Jena C, Beig G, Kumar R, Barth M C, Pfister G G, Fadnavis S, Pithani P (2016). Premature mortality in India due to PM_2.5 and ozone exposure. Geophysical Research Letters, 43(9): 4650–4658

[12] Guo H, Kota S H, Chen K, Sahu S K, Hu J, Ying Q, Wang Y, Zhang H (2018). Source contributions and potential reductions to health effects of particulate matter in India. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 18(20): 15219–15229

[13] Guo S, Hu M, Zamora M L, Peng J, Shang D, Zheng J, Du Z, Wu Z, Shao M, Zeng L, Molina M J, Zhang R (2014). Elucidating severe urban haze formation in China. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 111(49): 17373–17378

[14] Guo Y, Li S, Tian Z, Pan X, Zhang J, Williams G (2013). The burden of air pollution on years of life lost in Beijing, China, 2004–08: Retrospective regression analysis of daily deaths. BMJ (Clinical Research Ed.), 347(dec09 7): f7139

[15] Hu J, Huang L, Chen M, Liao H, Zhang H, Wang S, Zhang Q, Ying Q (2017). Premature mortality attributable to particulate matter in China: Source contributions and responses to reductions. Environmental Science & Technology, 51(17): 9950–9959

[16] Huang K, Liang F, Yang X, Liu F, Li J, Xiao Q, Chen J, Liu X, Cao J, Shen C, Yu L, Lu F, Wu X, Zhao L, Wu X, Li Y, Hu D, Huang J, Liu Y, Lu X, Gu D (2019). Long term exposure to ambient fine particulate matter and incidence of stroke: Prospective cohort study from the China-PAR project. BMJ (Clinical Research Ed.), 367: l6720 (1-9)

[17] Huang R J, Zhang Y, Bozzetti C, Ho K F, Cao J J, Han Y, Daellenbach K R, Slowik J G, Platt S M, Canonaco F, Zotter P, Wolf R, Pieber S M, Bruns E A, Crippa M, Ciarelli G, Piazzalunga A, Schwikowski M, Abbaszade G, Schnelle-Kreis J, Zimmermann R, An Z, Szidat S, Baltensperger U, Haddad I El, Prévôt A S. H. (2014). High secondary aerosol contribution to particulate pollution during haze events in China. Nature, 514(7521): 218–222

[18] Lelieveld J, Barlas C, Giannadaki D, Pozzer A (2013). Model calculated global, regional and megacity premature mortality due to air pollution. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 13(14): 7023–7037

[19] Lelieveld J, Evans J S, Fnais M, Giannadaki D, Pozzer A (2015). The contribution of outdoor air pollution sources to premature mortality on a global scale. Nature, 525(7569): 367–371

[20] Li T, Guo Y, Liu Y, Wang J, Wang Q, Sun Z, He M Z, Shi X (2019). Estimating mortality burden attributable to short-term PM_2.5 exposure: A national observational study in China. Environment International, 125: 245–251

[21] Li X, Ma Y, Wang Y, Liu N, Hong Y (2017). Temporal and spatial analyses of particulate matter (PM₁₀ and PM_2.5) and its relationship with meteorological parameters over an urban city in northeast China. Atmospheric Research, 198: 185–193

[22] Lin H, Liu T, Xiao J, Zeng W, Li X, Guo L, Xu Y, Zhang Y, Vaughn M G, Nelson E J, Qian Z, Ma W (2016). Quantifying short-term and long-term health benefits of attaining ambient fine particulate pollution standards in Guangzhou, China. Atmospheric Environment, 137: 38–44

[23] Liu J, Han Y, Tang X, Zhu J, Zhu T (2016). Estimating adult mortality attributable to PM_2.5 exposure in China with assimilated PM_2.5 concentrations based on a ground monitoring network. Science of the Total Environment, 568: 1253–1262

[24] Lu X, Lin C, Li W, Chen Y, Huang Y, Fung J C H, Lau A K H (2019). Analysis of the adverse health effects of PM_2.5 from 2001 to 2017 in China and the role of urbanization in aggravating the health burden. Science of the Total Environment, 652: 683–695

[25] Maji K J, Dikshit A K, Arora M, Deshpande A (2018). Estimating premature mortality attributable to PM_2.5 exposure and benefit of air pollution control policies in China for 2020. Science of the Total Environment, 612: 683–693

[26] Nie D, Chen M, Wu Y, Ge X, Hu J, Zhang K, Ge P (2018). Characterization of fine particulate matter and associated health burden in Nanjing. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(4): 602

[27] Pope C A, Ezzati M, Dockery D W (2009). Fine-particulate air pollution and life expectancy in the United States. New England Journal of Medicine, 360(4): 376–386

[28] Rohde R A, Muller R A (2015). Air pollution in China: mapping of concentrations and sources. PLoS One, 10(8): e0135749

[29] Sandeep A, Rao T N, Ramkiran C N, Rao S V B (2014). Differences in atmospheric boundary-layer characteristics between wet and dry episodes of the Indian summer monsoon. Boundary-Layer Meteorology, 153(2): 217–236

[30] Shang Y, Sun Z, Cao J, Wang X, Zhong L, Bi X, Li H, Liu W, Zhu T, Huang W (2013). Systematic review of Chinese studies of short-term exposure to air pollution and daily mortality. Environment International, 54: 100–111

[31] Song C, He J, Wu L, Jin T, Chen X, Li R, Ren P, Zhang L, Mao H (2017). Health burden attributable to ambient PM_2.5 in China. Environmental Pollution, 223: 575–586

[32] Song Y, Huang B, He Q, Chen B, Wei J, Mahmood R (2019). Dynamic assessment of PM_2.5 exposure and health risk using remote sensing and geo-spatial big data. Environmental Pollution, 253: 288–296

[33] Tian Y, Liu H, Wu Y, Si Y, Song J, Cao Y, Li M, Wu Y, Wang X, Chen L, Wei C, Gao P, Hu Y (2019). Association between ambient fine particulate pollution and hospital admissions for cause specific cardiovascular disease: Time series study in 184 major Chinese cities. BMJ (Clinical Research Ed.), 367: l65721-11)

[34] Xie Y, Dai H, Dong H, Hanaoka T, Masui T (2016). Economic impacts from PM_2.5 pollution-related health effects in China: A provincial-level analysis. Environmental Science & Technology, 50(9): 4836–4843

[35] Yoo J M, Lee Y R, Kim D, Jeong M J, Stockwell W R, Kundu P K, Oh S M, Shin D B, Lee S J (2014). New indices for wet scavenging of air pollutants (O₃, CO, NO₂, SO₂, and PM₁₀) by summertime rain. Atmospheric Environment, 82: 226–237

[36] Zhang Y L, Cao F (2015). Fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) in China at a city level. Scientific Reports, 5(1): 14884 (1-12)

[37] Zheng Y, Xue T, Zhang Q, Geng G, Tong D, Li X, He K (2017). Air quality improvements and health benefits from China’s clean air action since 2013. Environmental Research Letters, 12(11): 114020

Acknowledgements

The work is supported by open fund by Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment Monitoring and Pollution Control (KHK1906), Science and Technology Project of Hebei Education Department (ZD2020135), Overseas Talents Introduction Funded Project of Hebei Province (C20200308), National Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program for College Students (202010077001), Scientific Pre-Research Fund of Hebei GEO University in 2015(YK201501), and the Young Talent Plan of Hebei Province 2016.

Electronic Supplementary Material

Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-020-1376-0 and is accessible for authorized users.

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2020 Higher Education Press