With the rapid development of the economy, the atmospheric pollution in China has become very severe, and poses a great threat to human health. On the basis of relevant research achievements at home and abroad, this paper summarizes the impact of atmospheric pollution on the health of residents from the two aspects of research content and method. It was found that current research is mainly focused on calculating the health losses, evaluating the economic cost of health losses, and analyzing the health benefits of controlling atmospheric pollutants at the macro level, while studies at the micro level are relatively scarce. Moreover, current studies at the micro individual level is mostly empirical research related to epidemic cases abroad; however, domestic research at the micro individual level is still at the initial stage of qualitative analysis. In addition, the quantitative assessment method of atmospheric pollution on the health of residents is also improving. Apart from methods in common use (meta-analysis, Poisson regression model, human capital method, willingness to pay method and disease cost method), there are other methods that are widely used (input-output model and computable general equilibrium model). In general, the effects of atmospheric pollution on resident health include both chronic and short-term acute effects, and involve many other factors as well, such as socioeconomics, natural conditions, behavioral preferences, and personal physiology. Although the depth and breadth of the research are expanding, and the level of discipline integration is being continuously improved, it is necessary to strengthen domestic epidemiological studies, to pay attention to the integration of macro (regions) and micro (individuals), to focus on the reduction and distribution of atmospheric pollutants from a health perspective, and to attach importance to the construction of a basic database in the future to provide a scientific basis for establishing a systematic framework for the analysis of the effects of atmospheric pollution on the health of residents.
Keywords: atmospheric pollution; exposure response relationship; health terminal; loss of health; residents' health.