DOI 10.1515/reveh-2014-0031 Rev Environ Health 2014; 29(1-2): 129–132
Bin Jalaludin* and Christine Cowie
Particulate air pollution and cardiovascular disease – it is time to take it seriously Abstract: Worldwide, there were over 3 million deaths attributable to exposure to excessive levels of particulate air pollution in 2010. This is similar to the number of deaths attributable to high blood sugar (3.4 million) but less than the number of deaths attributed to smoking (5.7 million) and excessive alcohol consumption (5.0 million). Globally, ambient particulate air pollution was the ninth leading cause of premature deaths, and most of the disease attributable to exposure to ambient particulate air pollution is cardiovascular disease. Short-term and longterm exposures to outdoor particulate matter pollution are associated with a range of adverse cardiovascular health effects such as heart rate variability, development of atherosclerosis, myocardial ischemia, myocardial infarction, stroke, and deaths. Despite this, there is not the same recognition of particulate air pollution as an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality compared to the more established risk factors such as cigarette smoking and hypertension. It is now time to reevaluate the contribution of particulate air pollution to cardiovascular disease. Keywords: cardiovascular disease; particulate air p ollution; risk factors. *Corresponding author: Bin Jalaludin, Centre for Research, Evidence Management and Surveillance, Sydney and South Western Sydney Local Health Districts, Sydney, Australia; Centre for Air quality and Health Research and Evaluation (CAR), Sydney, Australia; and School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, E-mail: [email protected] Christine Cowie: Centre for Air quality and Health Research and Evaluation (CAR), Sydney, Australia
Particulate matter air pollution Particulate matter (PM) in air is composed of solid and liquid particles suspended in air, although particles larger than 100 μm are too heavy to remain airborne for long periods (1). The coarse particle fraction is produced mechanically from attenuation of larger particles, whereas smaller particles can be gaseous (2). Particles can increase in size through aggregation, accretion, or
condensation and can decrease in size by disaggregation or evaporation. Fine and ultrafine PM originate primarily from vehicular exhaust (3). Owing to its heterogeneous nature, PM is categorized by its aerodynamic diameter or size range. PM10, PM2.5, and PM1 are particles with median aerodynamic diameters
Bin Jalaludin* and Christine Cowie
Particulate air pollution and cardiovascular disease – it is time to take it seriously Abstract: Worldwide, there were over 3 million deaths attributable to exposure to excessive levels of particulate air pollution in 2010. This is similar to the number of deaths attributable to high blood sugar (3.4 million) but less than the number of deaths attributed to smoking (5.7 million) and excessive alcohol consumption (5.0 million). Globally, ambient particulate air pollution was the ninth leading cause of premature deaths, and most of the disease attributable to exposure to ambient particulate air pollution is cardiovascular disease. Short-term and longterm exposures to outdoor particulate matter pollution are associated with a range of adverse cardiovascular health effects such as heart rate variability, development of atherosclerosis, myocardial ischemia, myocardial infarction, stroke, and deaths. Despite this, there is not the same recognition of particulate air pollution as an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality compared to the more established risk factors such as cigarette smoking and hypertension. It is now time to reevaluate the contribution of particulate air pollution to cardiovascular disease. Keywords: cardiovascular disease; particulate air p ollution; risk factors. *Corresponding author: Bin Jalaludin, Centre for Research, Evidence Management and Surveillance, Sydney and South Western Sydney Local Health Districts, Sydney, Australia; Centre for Air quality and Health Research and Evaluation (CAR), Sydney, Australia; and School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, E-mail: [email protected] Christine Cowie: Centre for Air quality and Health Research and Evaluation (CAR), Sydney, Australia
Particulate matter air pollution Particulate matter (PM) in air is composed of solid and liquid particles suspended in air, although particles larger than 100 μm are too heavy to remain airborne for long periods (1). The coarse particle fraction is produced mechanically from attenuation of larger particles, whereas smaller particles can be gaseous (2). Particles can increase in size through aggregation, accretion, or
condensation and can decrease in size by disaggregation or evaporation. Fine and ultrafine PM originate primarily from vehicular exhaust (3). Owing to its heterogeneous nature, PM is categorized by its aerodynamic diameter or size range. PM10, PM2.5, and PM1 are particles with median aerodynamic diameters
