Health impact assessment on life expectancy gains ascribed to particulate matter reduction

How the shape characterization of the concentration-response relationships between particulate matter (PM) and all-cause mortality influences life expectancy (LE) gains remains unclear. Based on the Pearl River Cohort, the 2021 World Health Organization air quality guidelines, and an integrated comparative risk assessment framework, we identified sigmodal relationships between PM2.5, all-cause mortality, and LE reduction. A 10-unit increase in PM2.5 was associated with an excess mortality risk of 31.2% (95% uncertainty interval: 27.6–35.0%). Reducing PM2.5 to the guideline threshold of 5 μg/m3 could prevent 0.193 (0.175–0.212) million deaths, contributing to a 4.07–year (3.60–4.52) average LE gain. In contrast, PM2.5 reductions by 5.6% and 10% resulted in smaller LE gains of 0.33 (0.28–0.38) and 0.58 (0.49–0.67) years, respectively. These findings highlight the importance of accounting for the nonlinear relationship in air pollution control and provide essential incentives for tailoring sustainable plans to enhance population longevity.

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Publication Details

Journal
npj Climate and Atmospheric Science
Published
2025-02-22
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-025-00953-w
Citations
4
Primary Topic
Air Quality and Health Impacts
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
4.80

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article

Health impact assessment on life expectancy gains ascribed to particulate matter reduction

Zhicheng Du, Jun‐Yan Xi, Richard T. Burnett, Jie Jiang et al.
4 citations
npj Climate and Atmospheric Science
Air Quality and Health Impacts
4.80
article

Health impact assessment on life expectancy gains ascribed to particulate matter reduction

Zhicheng Du, Jun‐Yan Xi, Richard T. Burnett, Jie Jiang, S.H. Chen, Lin Xiao, Jianjun Bai, Wangjian Zhang, Yuantao Hao, Zhiqiang Li, Tian Tian, Yining Xiang, Weihua Hu, Xiaowen Wang, Ying Wang
article en
4 citations

Abstract

How the shape characterization of the concentration-response relationships between particulate matter (PM) and all-cause mortality influences life expectancy (LE) gains remains unclear. Based on the Pearl River Cohort, the 2021 World Health Organization air quality guidelines, and an integrated comparative risk assessment framework, we identified sigmodal relationships between PM2.5, all-cause mortality, and LE reduction. A 10-unit increase in PM2.5 was associated with an excess mortality risk of 31.2% (95% uncertainty interval: 27.6–35.0%). Reducing PM2.5 to the guideline threshold of 5 μg/m3 could prevent 0.193 (0.175–0.212) million deaths, contributing to a 4.07–year (3.60–4.52) average LE gain. In contrast, PM2.5 reductions by 5.6% and 10% resulted in smaller LE gains of 0.33 (0.28–0.38) and 0.58 (0.49–0.67) years, respectively. These findings highlight the importance of accounting for the nonlinear relationship in air pollution control and provide essential incentives for tailoring sustainable plans to enhance population longevity.

npj Climate and Atmospheric ScienceVol. 8(1)
Sun Yat-sen University (CN), Peking University (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation of Guangdong Province
Zero hunger
Openalex Percentile: Top 6%
Air Quality and Health Impacts
4.80
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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