Jump to main content
US EPA
United States Environmental Protection Agency
Search
Search
Main menu
Environmental Topics
Laws & Regulations
About EPA
Health & Environmental Research Online (HERO)
Contact Us
Print
Feedback
Export to File
Search:
This record has one attached file:
Add More Files
Attach File(s):
Display Name for File*:
Save
Citation
Tags
HERO ID
6671709
Reference Type
Journal Article
Title
Evaluating the impact of long-term exposure to fine particulate matter on mortality among the elderly
Author(s)
Wu, X; Braun, D; Schwartz, J; Kioumourtzoglou, MA; Dominici, F
Year
2020
Is Peer Reviewed?
1
Journal
Science Advances
EISSN:
2375-2548
Volume
6
Issue
29
Page Numbers
eaba5692
Language
English
PMID
32832626
DOI
10.1126/sciadv.aba5692
Web of Science Id
WOS:000552227800017
Abstract
Many studies link long-term fine particle (PM2.5) exposure to mortality, even at levels below current U.S. air quality standards (12 micrograms per cubic meter). These findings have been disputed with claims that the use of traditional statistical approaches does not guarantee causality. Leveraging 16 years of data—68.5 million Medicare enrollees—we provide strong evidence of the causal link between long-term PM2.5 exposure and mortality under a set of causal inference assumptions. Using five distinct approaches, we found that a decrease in PM2.5 (by 10 micrograms per cubic meter) leads to a statistically significant 6 to 7% decrease in mortality risk. Based on these models, lowering the air quality standard to 10 micrograms per cubic meter would save 143,257 lives (95% confidence interval, 115,581 to 170,645) in one decade. Our study provides the most comprehensive evidence to date of the link between long-term PM2.5 exposure and mortality, even at levels below current standards.
Tags
NAAQS
•
ISA-PM (2019)
PM RTC
•
ISA – PM Supplement (2022)
Cited References
•
LitSearch-NOx (2024)
Forward Citation Search
Epidemiology
Results
Mortality-LT
PubMed
WoS
•
Litsearch – PM ISA Supplement 2021
Pubmed iCite citation search (April 2021 BR)
PM2.5 Cardiovascular and Mortality Epi Search
Prior finds
Results
Race and SES Search
Results
Merged search results (location and date exclusion applied)
In Scope
References from other sources
Home
Learn about HERO
Using HERO
Search HERO
Projects in HERO
Risk Assessment
Transparency & Integrity