Occupational & environmental · Air pollution and chronic lung disease
Associations of ambient air pollution with COPD hospitalization and mortality
| Design | Population-based cohort study |
|---|---|
| Treatment | Higher exposure to traffic-related fine particulate and woodsmoke pollution |
| Control | Lower exposure |
| Population | Population-based cohort followed for COPD hospitalisation and mortality |
| Follow-up | Multi-year cohort follow-up |
| Primary endpoint | COPD hospitalisation and mortality |
| Result | An interquartile-range rise in black carbon (0.97 x 10^-5 per m, about 0.78 µg/m3 elemental carbon) was associated with a 6% increase in COPD hospitalisations (95% CI 2 to 10) and a 7% increase in COPD mortality (0 to 13) after adjustment. Higher woodsmoke exposure (top versus bottom tertile) was associated with a 15% increase in hospitalisations (2 to 29), with positive exposure-response trends throughout. |
| Secondary endpoints | Source-specific pollution associations |
Ambient air pollution, including traffic-related fine particulate pollution and woodsmoke pollution, is associated with an increased risk of COPD.
The trial authors, in the published abstract
Extends the acute mortality association of MCC-652 to chronic disease causation, and identifies sources rather than just concentrations — which is what makes it actionable in policy terms. Observational, with the exposure misclassification that always attends ambient pollution estimates.
Gan WQ, FitzGerald JM, Carlsten C, et al. Associations of ambient air pollution with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease hospitalization and mortality. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2013 Apr 1;187(7):721-7.