The association between long-term exposure to ambient formaldehyde and respiratory mortality risk: A national study in China.
Ecotoxicol Environ Saf
; 283: 116860, 2024 Sep 15.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-39126815
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
While ambient formaldehyde (HCHO) concentrations are increasing worldwide, there was limited research on its health effects.OBJECTIVES:
To assess the association of long-term exposure to ambient HCHO with the risk of respiratory (RESP) mortality and the associated mortality burden in China.METHODS:
Annual and seasonal RESP death and tropospheric HCHO vertical columns data were collected in 466 counties/districts across China during 2013-2016. A difference-in-differences approach combined with a generalized linear mixed-effects regression model was employed to assess the exposure-response association between long-term ambient HCHO exposure and RESP mortality risk. Additionally, we computed the attributable fraction (AF) to gauge the proportion of RESP mortality attributable to HCHO exposure.RESULTS:
This analysis encompassed 560,929 RESP deaths. The annual mean ambient HCHO concentration across selected counties/districts was 8.02×1015 ± 2.22×1015 molec.cm-2 during 2013-2016. Each 1.00×1015 molec.cm-2 increase in ambient HCHO was associated with a 1.61â¯% increase [excess risk (ER), 95â¯% confidence interval (CI) 1.20â¯%, 2.03â¯%] in the RESP mortality risk. The AF of RESP mortality attributable to HCHO was 12.16â¯% (95â¯%CI9.33â¯%, 14.88â¯%), resulting in an annual average of 125,422 (95â¯%CI96,404, 153,410) attributable deaths in China. Stratified analyses suggested stronger associations in individuals aged ≥65 years old (ER=1.87â¯%, 95â¯%CI1.43â¯%, 2.32â¯%), in cold seasons (ER=1.00â¯%, 95â¯%CI0.56â¯%, 1.44â¯%), in urban areas (ER=1.65â¯%, 95â¯%CI1.15â¯%, 2.16â¯%), and in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients (ER=1.95â¯%, 95â¯%CI1.42â¯%, 2.48â¯%).CONCLUSIONS:
This study suggested that long-term HCHO exposure may significantly increase the risk of RESP mortality, leading to a substantial mortality burden. Targeted measures should be implemented to control ambient HCHO pollution promptly.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Air Pollutants
/
Environmental Exposure
/
Formaldehyde
Limits:
Aged
/
Humans
/
Male
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
En
Journal:
Ecotoxicol Environ Saf
/
Ecotoxicol. environ. saf
/
Ecotoxicology and environmental safety
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Country of publication:
Netherlands