ILO Home
Go to the home page
Site map | Contact us Français | Español

CISDOC database

Document ID (ISN)111538
CIS number 11-0227
ISSN - Serial title 1351-0711 - Occupational and Environmental Medicine
Year 2010
Convention or series no.
Author(s) Yorifuji T., Kashima S., Tsuda T., Takao S., Suzuki E., Doi H., Sugiyama M., Ishikawa-Takata K., Ohta T.
Title Long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution and mortality in Shizuoka, Japan
Bibliographic information Feb. 2010, Vol.67, No.2, p.111-117. Illus. 31 ref.
Abstract The number of studies investigating the health effects of long-term exposure to air pollution is increasing; however, most studies have been conducted in Western countries. The health status of Asian populations may be different to that of Western populations and may, therefore, respond differently to air pollution exposure. This study was therefore conducted to evaluate the health effects of long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution in Shizuoka, Japan. Individual data were extracted from participants of an ongoing cohort study. A total of 14,001 older residents, who were randomly chosen from all 74 municipalities of Shizuoka, completed questionnaires and were followed from December 1999 to March 2006. Individual nitrogen dioxide exposure data, as an index for traffic-related exposure, were modelled using a land use regression model. Participants were assigned an estimated concentration of nitrogen dioxide exposure during 2000-2006. The adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for a 10 μg/m3 increase in exposure to nitrogen dioxide for all-cause or cause-specific mortality was then estimated. The adjusted HR for all-cause mortality was 1.02. Regarding cause-specific mortality, the adjusted HR for cardiopulmonary mortality was 1.16; in particular the adjusted HR was 1.27 for ischaemic heart disease mortality and 1.19 for pulmonary disease mortality. Furthermore, among non-smokers, a 10 μg/m3 increase in nitrogen dioxide was associated with a higher risk for lung cancer mortality (HR 1.30). Long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution, indexed by nitrogen dioxide concentration, increases the risk of cardiopulmonary mortality, even in a population with a relatively low body mass index and increases the risk of lung cancer mortality in non-smokers.
Descriptors (primary) Japan; atmospheric pollution; nitrogen dioxide; mortality; long-term exposure; risk factors
Descriptors (secondary) cardiovascular diseases; respiratory diseases; lung cancer; exposure evaluation; cohort study; dose-response relationship
Document type D - Periodical articles
Subject(s) Toxic and dangerous substances
Occupational pathology
Broad subject area(s) Chemical safety
Occupational medicine, epidemiology
Browse category(ies) Cardiovascular diseases
Diseases of the respiratory system (except for pneumoconiosis & similar)
Air pollution