PM2.5 pollution associated with 9 types of deaths (all associated with low Vitamin D) – Nov 2019

Burden of Cause-Specific Mortality Associated With PM2.5 Air Pollution in the United States

JAMA Netw Open. 2019;2(11):e1915834. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.15834
Benjamin Bowe, MPH1,2; Yan Xie, MPH1,2,3; Yan Yan, MD, PhD1,4; et alZiyad Al-Aly, MD1,3,5,6,7
Key Points

  • Question What are the causes of death associated with fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution?
  • Findings In this cohort study of more than 4.5 million US veterans, 9 causes of death were associated with PM2.5 air pollution:
    • cardiovascular disease,
    • cerebrovascular disease,
    • chronic kidney disease,
    • chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,
    • dementia,
    • type 2 diabetes,
    • hypertension,
    • lung cancer, and
    • pneumonia.

The attributable burden of death associated with PM2.5 was disproportionally borne by black individuals (who also have low vitamin D levels) and socioeconomically disadvantaged communities; 99% of the burden was associated with PM2.5 levels below standards set by the US Environmental Protection Agency.

  • Meaning This study adds to known causes of death associated with PM2.5 by identifying 3 new causes (death due to chronic kidney disease, hypertension, and dementia); racial and socioeconomic disparities in the burden were also evident.
VitaminDWiki

The word VITAMIN does not occur once in the PDF

Air Pollution reduces Vitamin D in VitaminDWiki has the following:
Fact: Pollution reduces the amount of time that people are outdoors
Fact: Pollution is often associated with hot temperatures - another reason to not go outdoors
Fact: Less time outdoors results in lower Vitamin D levels
Fact: Pollution attenuates the amount of UVB getting to the skin (but by only a few percent)
Fact:The body's ability to fight Irritation/Inflammation is aided by vitamin D
Fact: All of the types of PM2.5 deaths are also associated with low vitamin D
       Most air pollutions reduce Vitamin D (PM2.5 is worst) – June 2021
Conclusion: Vitamin D supplementation helps the body fight the effects of pollution.

  • There were 60+ references in Air Pollution reduces Vitamin D page as of June 2023
  • Inhaled vitamin D might turn out to be especially good form as it goes directly to the lungs.

 Download the PDF from VitaminDWiki
18 Google Scholar studies referenced this study as of Aug 2020
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Importance Ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution is associated with increased risk of several causes of death. However, epidemiologic evidence suggests that current knowledge does not comprehensively capture all causes of death associated with PM2.5 exposure.

Objective To systematically identify causes of death associated with PM2.5 pollution and estimate the burden of death for each cause in the United States.

Design, Setting, and Participants In a cohort study of US veterans followed up between 2006 and 2016, ensemble modeling was used to identify and characterize morphology of the association between PM2.5 and causes of death. Burden of death associated with PM2.5 exposure in the contiguous United States and for each state was then estimated by application of estimated risk functions to county-level PM2.5 estimates from the US Environmental Protection Agency and cause-specific death rate data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Main Outcomes and Measures Nonlinear exposure-response functions of the association between PM2.5 and causes of death and burden of death associated with PM2.5.

Exposures Annual mean PM2.5 levels.

Results A cohort of 4 522 160 US veterans (4 243 462 [93.8%] male; median [interquartile range] age, 64.1 [55.7-75.5] years; 3 702 942 [82.0%] white, 667 550 [14.8%] black, and 145 593 [3.2%] other race) was followed up for a median (interquartile range) of 10.0 (6.8-10.2) years. In the contiguous United States, PM2.5 exposure was associated with excess burden of death due to cardiovascular disease (56 070.1 deaths [95% uncertainty interval {UI}, 51 940.2-60 318.3 deaths]), cerebrovascular disease (40 466.1 deaths [95% UI, 21 770.1-46 487.9 deaths]), chronic kidney disease (7175.2 deaths [95% UI, 5910.2-8371.9 deaths]), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (645.7 deaths [95% UI, 300.2-2490.9 deaths]), dementia (19 851.5 deaths [95% UI, 14 420.6-31 621.4 deaths]), type 2 diabetes (501.3 deaths [95% UI, 447.5-561.1 deaths]), hypertension (30 696.9 deaths [95% UI, 27 518.1-33 881.9 deaths]), lung cancer (17 545.3 deaths [95% UI, 15 055.3-20 464.5 deaths]), and pneumonia (8854.9 deaths [95% UI, 7696.2-10 710.6 deaths]). Burden exhibited substantial geographic variation. Estimated burden of death due to nonaccidental causes was 197 905.1 deaths (95% UI, 183 463.3-213 644.9 deaths); mean age-standardized death rates (per 100 000) due to nonaccidental causes were higher among black individuals (55.2 [95% UI, 50.5-60.6]) than nonblack individuals (51.0 [95% UI, 46.4-56.1]) and higher among those living in counties with high (65.3 [95% UI, 56.2-75.4]) vs low (46.1 [95% UI, 42.3-50.4]) socioeconomic deprivation; 99.0% of the burden of death due to nonaccidental causes was associated with PM2.5 levels below standards set by the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Conclusions and Relevance In this study, 9 causes of death were associated with PM2.5 exposure. The burden of death associated with PM2.5 was disproportionally borne by black individuals and socioeconomically disadvantaged communities. Effort toward cleaner air might reduce the burden of PM2.5-associated deaths.

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