US EPA

42668 

Journal Article 

Long-term ambient concentrations of total suspended particulates and oxidants as related to incidence of chronic disease in California Seventh-Day Adventists 

Abbey, DE; Mills, PK; Petersen, FF; Beeson, WL 

1991 

Yes 

Environmental Health Perspectives
ISSN: 0091-6765
EISSN: 1552-9924 

94 

43-50 

English 

1954938 

10.2307/3431291 

WOS:A1991GG59800008 

http://www.jstor.org/stable/3431291?origin=crossref
Exit
 

Cancer incidence and mortality in a cohort of 6000 nonsmoking California Seventh-Day Adventists were monitored for a 6-year period, and relationshipswith long-term cumulative ambient air pollution were observed. Total suspended particulates (TSP) and ozone were measured in terms of numbers of hours in excess of several threshold levels corresponding to national standardsas well as mean concentration. For all malignant neoplasms among females, risk increased with increasing exceedance frequencies of all thresholds of TSP except the lowest one, and those increased risks were highly statistically significant. For respiratory cancers, increased risk was associated with only one threshold of ozone, and this result was of borderline significance. Respiratory disease symptoms were assessed in 1977 and again in 1987 using the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute respiratory symptoms questionnaire on a subcohort of 3914 individuals. Multivariate analyses which adjusted for past and passive smoking and occupational exposures indicated statistically significantly (p < 0.05) elevated relative risks ranging up to 1.7 for incidence of asthma, definite symptoms of airway obstructive disease, and chronic bronchitis with TSP in excess of all thresholds except the lowest one but not for any thresholds of ozone. A trend association (p = 0.056) was noted between the threshold of 10 pphm ozone and incidence of asthma. These results are presented within the context of standards setting for these constituents of air pollution.