The association of diesel vehicle emissions and diesel passenger car preferences with cancer and chronic respiratory airway disease deaths in Türkiye: an ecological study

The first aim of this study was to investigate the relationship of increased emissions from diesel vehicles with the ratios of chronic respiratory disease and cancer deaths. Secondly, this study aims to investigate the types of cancer deaths associated with the increase in diesel passenger cars. The fuel types and engine types of cars in traffic since 2004 were obtained from national statistics data (TurkStat) and Automotive Distributors and Mobility Association data. Chronic respiratory disease and cancer death rates were calculated using the TurkStat data. Time-lag correlation analysis was examined to evaluate the relationship between the increase in the number of diesel vehicles and deaths from diseases (5-year lag). The increase in diesel vehicles correlated with deaths from colon (r: 0.81), pancreas (r: 0.83), rectum (r: 0.79), bladder (r: 0.83), and skin (r: 0.59) cancers in males. For females, there was a correlation between the increase in diesel vehicles and deaths from lung and larynx (r: 0.73), colon (r: 0.66), pancreas (r: 0.85), bladder (r: 0.66), breast (r: 0.85), uterus (r: 0.91), and ovarian (r: 0.81) cancers. The increase in diesel car preference was associated with deaths from lung and larynx (r: 0.57), colon (r: 0.59), and bladder (r: 0.63) cancers in females. The outcomes underscore the potential public health impact of diesel vehicle emissions and the need for regulatory policies to mitigate these harmful effects. Promoting cleaner alternatives can be a supportive step in the fight against cancer.