Air pollution control efficacy and health impacts: A global observational study from 2000 to 2016

Chunlei Han; Rongbin Xu; Yajuan Zhang; Wenhua Yu; Zhongwen Zhang; Lidia Morawska; Jane Heyworth; Bin Jalaludin; Geoffrey Morgan; Guy Marks; Michael Abramson; Liwei Sun; Shanshan Li; Yuming Guo

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117211

Air pollution control efficacy and health impacts: A global observational study from 2000 to 2016

Environ Pollut. 2021 Oct 15:287:117211. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117211. Epub 2021 May 3.

Authors

Chunlei Han¹, Rongbin Xu², Yajuan Zhang³, Wenhua Yu², Zhongwen Zhang⁴, Lidia Morawska⁵, Jane Heyworth⁶, Bin Jalaludin⁷, Geoffrey Morgan⁸, Guy Marks⁹, Michael Abramson², Liwei Sun⁴, Shanshan Li¹⁰, Yuming Guo¹¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Public Health and Management, Binzhou Medical University, Yantai, Shandong Province, 264003, PR China; School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia.
² School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia.
³ School of Public Health and Management, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, 750004, PR China.
⁴ School of Public Health and Management, Binzhou Medical University, Yantai, Shandong Province, 264003, PR China.
⁵ International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, 4001, Australia.
⁶ School of Population and Global Health, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia.
⁷ School of Population Health, The University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW, 2052, Australia.
⁸ School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.
⁹ South Western Sydney Clinical School, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2170, Australia.
¹⁰ School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia. Electronic address: Shanshan.Li@monash.edu.
¹¹ School of Public Health and Management, Binzhou Medical University, Yantai, Shandong Province, 264003, PR China; School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia. Electronic address: Yuming.Guo@monash.edu.

PMID: 34052602
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117211

Abstract

Particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter ≤2.5 μm (PM_2.5) concentrations vary between countries with similar carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions, which can be partially explained by differences in air pollution control efficacy. However, no indicator of air pollution control efficacy has yet been developed. We aimed to develop such an indicator, and to evaluate its global and temporal distribution and its association with country-level health metrics. A novel indicator, ambient population-weighted average PM_2.5 concentration per unit per capita CO₂ emission (PM_2.5/CO₂), was developed to assess country-specific air pollution control efficacy (abbreviated as APCI). We estimated and mapped the global average distribution of APCI and its changes during 2000-2016 across 196 countries. Pearson correlation coefficients and Generalized Additive Mixed Model (GAMM) were used to evaluate the relationship between APCI and health metrics. APCI varied by country with an inverse association with economic development. APCI showed an almost stable trend globally from 2000 to 2016, with the low-income groups increased and several countries (China, India, Bangladesh) decreased. The Pearson correlation coefficients between APCI and life expectancy at birth (LE), infant-mortality rate (IMR), under-five year of age mortality rate (U5MR) and logarithm of per capita GDP (LPGDP) were -0.57, 0.65, 0.66, -0.59 respectively (all P values < 0.001). APCI could explain international variation of LE, IMR and U5MR. The associations between APCI and LE, IMR, U5MR were independent of per capita GDP and climatic factors. We consider APCI to be a good indicator for air pollution control efficacy given its relation to important population health indicators. Our findings provide a new metric to interpret health inequity across the globe from the point of climate change and air pollution control efficacy.

Keywords: Ambient air pollution; Carbon emission; Climate change; Health inequity; Pollution control.

Publication types

Observational Study

MeSH terms

Air Pollutants* / analysis
Air Pollution* / analysis
Climate Change
Environmental Exposure / analysis
Humans
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Life Expectancy
Particulate Matter / analysis

Substances

Air Pollutants
Particulate Matter