[Time-series analysis on the acute mortality affected by air pollution, in the city of Guangzhou, 2004-2008].

OBJECTIVE

To study the associations between daily mortality and the status of exposure to air pollution.

METHODS

A time-series analysis was conducted to assess the relations between acute mortality and exposure to respiratory particulate matter (PM(10)), sulfur-dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in urban residents of Guangzhou (2004 - 2008), using Poisson regression.

RESULTS

Through controlling the factors as temperature, relative humidity, age, gender and time, significant increases were observed in all-cause mortality of 0.94% (0.79 - 1.09) for PM(10), 1.55% (1.31 - 1.78) for NO2, and 1.09% (0.91 - 1.27) for SO2, per 10 µg/m(3), when increase of the lagging 2-day average concentrations of air pollution was seen, in Guangzhou. Stronger effects of exposure to air pollution were found on cardiovascular and respiratory mortality, as well as in elderly (≥ 65 years) and female population.

CONCLUSION

Our results suggested that exposure to ambient pollution was significantly associated with the increase of excess risks, on total and cardio-respiratory mortality in the residents of Guangzhou.