XXXX and long-term exposure to particulate air pollution: epidemiological evidence of general pathophysiological pathways of disease.

@entity712 @entity66 @entity55 @entity5 @entity1576 @entity741 @entity1167 @entity65 @entity731 @entity943 @entity204
BACKGROUND: Epidemiologic studies have linked long-term exposure to fine particulate matter air pollution (PM) to broad cause-of- @entity204 mortality. Associations with specific @entity66 might be useful in exploring potential mechanistic pathways linking exposure and mortality. METHODS AND RESULTS: General pathophysiological pathways linking long-term PM exposure with mortality and expected patterns of PM mortality with specific causes of @entity204 were proposed a priori. Vital status, risk factor, and cause-of- @entity204 data, collected by the American @entity5 Society as part of the @entity5 Prevention II study, were linked with air pollution data from United States metropolitan areas. Cox Proportional Hazard regression models were used to estimate PM-mortality associations with specific causes of @entity204 . Long-term PM exposures were most strongly associated with mortality attributable to @entity741 , @entity943 , @entity712 , and @entity1167 . For these cardiovascular causes of @entity204 , a 10-microg/m3 elevation in fine PM was associated with 8% to 18% increases in mortality risk, with comparable or larger risks being observed for smokers relative to nonsmokers. Mortality attributable to @entity1576 had relatively weak associations. CONCLUSIONS: Fine particulate air pollution is a risk factor for cause-specific @entity65 mortality via mechanisms that likely include @entity55 , accelerated @entity731 , and altered cardiac autonomic function. Although smoking is a much larger risk factor for @entity65 mortality, exposure to fine PM imposes additional effects that seem to be at least additive to if not synergistic with smoking.
