scholarly journals Causal Effects of Air Pollution on Mortality Rate in Massachusetts

2020 ◽  
Vol 189 (11) ◽  
pp. 1316-1323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaguang Wei ◽  
Yan Wang ◽  
Xiao Wu ◽  
Qian Di ◽  
Liuhua Shi ◽  
...  

Abstract Air pollution epidemiology studies have primarily investigated long- and short-term exposures separately, have used multiplicative models, and have been associational studies. Implementing a generalized propensity score adjustment approach with 3.8 billion person-days of follow-up, we simultaneously assessed causal associations of long-term (1-year moving average) and short-term (2-day moving average) exposure to particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to 2.5 μm (PM2.5), ozone, and nitrogen dioxide with all-cause mortality on an additive scale among Medicare beneficiaries in Massachusetts (2000–2012). We found that long- and short-term PM2.5, ozone, and nitrogen dioxide exposures were all associated with increased mortality risk. Specifically, per 10 million person-days, each 1-μg/m3 increase in long- and short-term PM2.5 exposure was associated with 35.4 (95% confidence interval (CI): 33.4, 37.6) and 3.04 (95% CI: 2.17, 3.94) excess deaths, respectively; each 1–part per billion (ppb) increase in long- and short-term ozone exposure was associated with 2.35 (95% CI: 1.08, 3.61) and 2.41 (95% CI: 1.81, 2.91) excess deaths, respectively; and each 1-ppb increase in long- and short-term nitrogen dioxide exposure was associated with 3.24 (95% CI: 2.75, 3.77) and 5.60 (95% CI: 5.24, 5.98) excess deaths, respectively. Mortality associated with long-term PM2.5 and ozone exposure increased substantially at low levels. The findings suggested that air pollution was causally associated with mortality, even at levels below national standards.

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nurshad Ali ◽  
Farjana Islam

The outbreak of COVID-19 has created a serious public health concern worldwide. Although, most of the regions around the globe have been affected by COVID-19 infections; some regions are more badly affected in terms of infections and fatality rates than others. The exact reasons for such variations are not clear yet. This review discussed the possible effects of air pollution on COVID-19 infections and mortality based on some recent evidence. The findings of most studies reviewed here demonstrate that both short-term and long-term exposure to air pollution especially PM2.5 and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) may contribute significantly to higher rates of COVID-19 infections and mortalities with a lesser extent also PM10. A significant correlation has been found between air pollution and COVID-19 infections and mortality in some countries in the world. The available data also indicate that exposure to air pollution may influence COVID-19 transmission. Moreover, exposure to air pollution may increase vulnerability and have harmful effects on the prognosis of patients affected by COVID-19 infections. Further research should be conducted considering some potential confounders such as age and pre-existing medical conditions along with exposure to NO2, PM2.5 and other air pollutants to confirm their detrimental effects on mortalities from COVID-19.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick D. M. C. Katoto ◽  
Amanda S. Brand ◽  
Buket Bakan ◽  
Paul Musa Obadia ◽  
Carsi Kuhangana ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Air pollution is one of the world’s leading mortality risk factors contributing to seven million deaths annually. COVID-19 pandemic has claimed about one million deaths in less than a year. However, it is unclear whether exposure to acute and chronic air pollution influences the COVID-19 epidemiologic curve. Methods We searched for relevant studies listed in six electronic databases between December 2019 and September 2020. We applied no language or publication status limits. Studies presented as original articles, studies that assessed risk, incidence, prevalence, or lethality of COVID-19 in relation with exposure to either short-term or long-term exposure to ambient air pollution were included. All patients regardless of age, sex and location diagnosed as having COVID-19 of any severity were taken into consideration. We synthesised results using harvest plots based on effect direction. Results Included studies were cross-sectional (n = 10), retrospective cohorts (n = 9), ecological (n = 6 of which two were time-series) and hypothesis (n = 1). Of these studies, 52 and 48% assessed the effect of short-term and long-term pollutant exposure, respectively and one evaluated both. Pollutants mostly studied were PM2.5 (64%), NO2 (50%), PM10 (43%) and O3 (29%) for acute effects and PM2.5 (85%), NO2 (39%) and O3 (23%) then PM10 (15%) for chronic effects. Most assessed COVID-19 outcomes were incidence and mortality rate. Acutely, pollutants independently associated with COVID-19 incidence and mortality were first PM2.5 then PM10, NO2 and O3 (only for incident cases). Chronically, similar relationships were found for PM2.5 and NO2. High overall risk of bias judgments (86 and 39% in short-term and long-term exposure studies, respectively) was predominantly due to a failure to adjust aggregated data for important confounders, and to a lesser extent because of a lack of comparative analysis. Conclusion The body of evidence indicates that both acute and chronic exposure to air pollution can affect COVID-19 epidemiology. The evidence is unclear for acute exposure due to a higher level of bias in existing studies as compared to moderate evidence with chronic exposure. Public health interventions that help minimize anthropogenic pollutant source and socio-economic injustice/disparities may reduce the planetary threat posed by both COVID-19 and air pollution pandemics.


Fractals ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 21 (01) ◽  
pp. 1350001 ◽  
Author(s):  
KAI SHI ◽  
WEN-YONG LI ◽  
CHUN-QIONG LIU ◽  
ZHENG-WEN HUANG

In this work, multifractal methods have been successfully used to characterize the temporal fluctuations of daily Jiuzhai Valley domestic and foreign tourists before and after Wenchuan earthquake in China. We used multifractal detrending moving average method (MF-DMA). It showed that Jiuzhai Valley tourism markets are characterized by long-term memory and multifractal nature in. Moreover, the major sources of multifractality are studied. Based on the concept of sliding window, the time evolutions of the multifractal behavior of domestic and foreign tourists were analyzed and the influence of Wenchuan earthquake on Jiuzhai Valley tourism system dynamics were evaluated quantitatively. The study indicates that the inherent dynamical mechanism of Jiuzhai Valley tourism system has not been fundamentally changed from long views, although Jiuzhai Valley tourism system was seriously affected by the Wenchuan earthquake. Jiuzhai Valley tourism system has the ability to restore to its previous state in the short term.


Author(s):  
Y. Yatsenko ◽  
O. Shevchenko ◽  
S. Snizhko

The purpose of the work is to study the current level and the main trends of atmospheric air pollution of the cities of Ukraine with nitrogen dioxide to identify the most polluted cities, their ranking to determine the list of cities for the priority implementation of environmental measures. For the purpose of the study, the information of the Central Geophysical Observatory on the average annual concentrations of nitrogen dioxide in the air of 51 cities of Ukraine for the period 1998-2015 was used. The study used the classical methods of applied mathematical statistics (estimation of statistical parameters of distribution of concentrations, construction of time trends on the method of least squares, graphical methods of visualization of levels of air pollution), which were implemented using the available programs "MS-Excell" and "Statistica-8.0". The classification of cities according to the level of MPC exceeds average annual concentrations of nitrogen dioxide. 3 groups of cities were allocated: 1 group (21 cities) permissible level of pollution (<1 MPC); 2 group (27 cities) – increased level of pollution (1-2 MPC); group 3 (3 cities) – high level of pollution (2-3 MPC). It has been established that in the air of 21 cities (41% of all cities where nitrogen dioxide is monitored in the atmosphere) of 51 cities, there is an acceptable level of air pollution. In the remaining cities (59%) – there is a stable excess of MPC. In 23 cities, even the minimum concentrations of NO2 exceed the permissible standards. The study of long-term dynamics of nitrogen dioxide in air has shown that the increase of concentrations of this pollutant for 1998-2015 is observed in 28 cities (55%) of 51. The most significant increase in concentrations in the air occurred in Kherson, Lutsk, Donetsk and Gorishni Plavni. In 13 cities reduction of concentrations was recorded, and in 10 cities the content of this pollutant in the air practically does not change.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 1-36
Author(s):  
Faisal Anees ◽  
Shujahat Haider Hashmi ◽  
Muhammad Asad

Technical analysis is widely accepted tool in professional place which is frequently used for investment decisions. Technical analysis beliefs that there exist patterns and trends and by capturing trends and patterns one can bless with above average profits. We test two technical strategies: Moving averages and Trading Range to question, either these techniques can yield profitable returns with the help of historical data. Representative daily indices of Four countries namely Pakistan, India, Srilanka, Bangladesh ranging from 1997 to 2011 have been examined. In case of Moving Average Rule, both simple and exponential averages have been examined to test eleven different short term and long term rules with and without band condition. Our results delivered that buy signals generate consistent above average returns for the all sub periods and sell signals generate lower returns than the normal returns. Intriguing observation is that Exponential average generates higher returns than the Simple Average. The results of Trading Range Break strategy are parallel with Moving average Method. However, Trading Range Strategy found not to give higher average higher return when compared with Moving Averages Rules and degree of volatility in returns is higher when compared with moving Average rule. In attempt to conclude, there exist patterns and trends that yield above average and below average returns which justify the validity of technical analysis.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Clara Machado Campolim ◽  
Lais Weissmann ◽  
Clílton Kraüss de Oliveira Ferreira ◽  
Olivia Pizetta Zordão ◽  
Ana Paula Segantine Dornellas ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-22
Author(s):  
Rashesh Vaidya

The stochastic oscillator is one of the popular tools used by technical analysts. The tools are used mainly to find the overbought and oversold position in the stock market. The stochastic values are between 0-100 which helps to determine the market scenario. The two stochastic indicators are comprised of two lines namely; %K and %D. The investors using the short-term moving average follows %K and for long-term moving average for %D. Though, both are used for buy signal or sell signal by the investors. The basic concept is if, the value of %K is seen above %D, which reflects to sell position, which in context to Nepalese stock market, the scenario is seen during the month of June-July of every fiscal year. At the same time, momentum uses transaction signal or trade signal or the zero ‘0’ line to find the bearish or bullish trend of the market. The momentum of NEPSE index clearly pictures out the bullish and the bearish trend for a specific duration. If the momentum line touches the ‘zero line’, the NEPSE has changed its trend.


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