Health benefits of a reduction in ambient fine particulate matter levels for post-neonatal infant survival in Taiwan

Infants' and children's health is particularly susceptible to exposure to various environmental contaminant insults as their immune systems are immature and daily activities may present differing patterns of exposure. Although some studies noted an association between long-term exposure to ambient fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) and increased infant mortality frequency, few investigations examined the relationship between reduced exposure to PM_2.5 and changes in infant mortality rates. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine whether diminished levels of PM_2.5 in Taiwan improved post-neonatal infant health. Avoidable premature post-neonatal infant mortality was employed as an indicator of health impact. A mean value was calculated for annual PM_2.5 levels across Taiwan for the years 2006, 2015, and 2023. Using these averages and following WHO methodology, differences in the number of post-neonatal infant deaths attributed to ambient PM_2.5 exposure were determined. PM_2.5 concentrations fell markedly throughout Taiwan over the 20-year study period. In conjunction with this decline, a lowered health burden was noted, which was represented as a fall in post-neonatal infant deaths (14.8% in 2006 to 10.3% in 2023). Reduction in annual levels of PM_2.5 to 10 µg/m³ was associated with a decrease in the total burden of post-neonatal infant mortality occurrence, with a 5.58-9.31% decline in PM_2.5-related deaths during that period. Evidence indicates that exposure to PM_2.5 air pollution poses a significant burden to Taiwan children's health. Our findings indicate that the potential benefits to children's health need to be given importance when considering improving air quality policies.