The impact of air pollution on health

Objectives To quantify the short term effects of air pollution on mortality and hospitalisation for cardiovascular or respiratory disorders in the nine French cities (Bordeaux, Le Havre, Lille, Marseille, Paris Rouen, Strasbourg and Toulouse) of the Surveillance Air et Sante program. Methods Data were available on mortality and hospitalisation were available, respectively, from 1990 to 1997 and 1995 to 1999. Exposure data were the concentrations of sulphur dioxide, particles with a diameter of less than or equal to 10 mm, black smoke, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, and carbon monoxide. The analysis assessed the relationships, in each of the cities, between the daily numbers of deaths and hospitalisations and the daily levels of polluting agents, taking into account confounding factors. A combined relative risk was calculated for all the cities. The number of deaths and hospitalisations attributable to air pollution was then estimated for each of the cities, based on the relative risk. Results Significant relationships were found for mortality, from whatever cause, and for hospitalisations for respiratory disorders in children aged under 15. if the levels of air pollution were reduced to 10 mug/m3 in the nine cities, 2 800 premature deaths and 750 hospitalisations for respiratory disorders in children would be avoided, every year. Conclusion Today, it is possible to assess the benefits of reducing air pollution in terms of health in the short term. These analyses would provide a sanitary dimension to the strategies for the reduction of urban pollution on local and European level.