Associations between air pollution and mortality in Phoenix, 1995-1997

We evaluated the association between mortality outcomes in elderly individuals and particulate matter (PM) of varying aerodynamic diameters (in micrometers) [PM10, PM2.5, and PMCF (PM10 minus PM2.5)], and selected particulate and gaseous phase pollutants in Phoenix, Arizona, using 3 years of daily data (1995-1997). Although source apportionment and epidemiologic methods have been previously combined to investigate the effects of air pollution on mortality, this is the first study to use derailed PM composition data in a time-series analysis of mortality. Phoenix is in the and Southwest and has approximately 1 million residents (9.7% of the residents are > 65 years of age). PM data were obtained from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Exposure Research Laboratory Platform in central Phoenix. We obtained gaseous pollutant data, specifically carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, and sulfur dioxide data, from the EPA Aerometric Information Retrieval System Database. We used Poisson regression analysis to evaluate the associations between air pollution and nonaccidental mortality and cardiovascular mortality. Total mortality was significantly associated with CO and NO2 (p < 0.05) and weakly associated with SO2, PM10, and PMCF (p < 0.10). Cardiovascular mortality was significantly associated with CO, NO2, SO2, PM2.5, PM10, PMCF (P < 0.05), and elemental carbon. Factor analysis revealed that both combustion-related pollutants and secondary aerosols (sulfates) were associated with cardiovasdar mortality.