Browsing by Author "Busch, Pablo"

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    Chronic exposure to fine particles (PM2.5) and mortality: Evidence from Chile
    (2023) Busch, Pablo; Cifuentes, Luis Abdon; Cabrera, Camila
    Background:Many Chilean cities suffer from high air pollution from industrial, mobile, and residential wood-burning sources. Several studies have linked PM2.5 air pollution exposure to higher mortality risk from cardiovascular, pulmonary, and lung cancer causes. In recent years, Chile has developed an extensive air pollution monitoring network to enforce air quality standards for PM2.5, allowing the study of the medium-term association between PM2.5 and mortality. Methods:A negative binomial regression model was used to study the association between 3-year average PM2.5 concentrations and age-adjusted mortality rates for 105 of the 345 municipalities in Chile. Models were fitted for all (ICD10 A to Q codes), cardiopulmonary (I and J), cardiovascular (I), pulmonary (J), cancer (C), and lung cancer (C33-C34) causes; controlling for meteorological, socioeconomic, and demographic characteristics. Results:A significant association of PM2.5 exposure with cardiopulmonary (relative risk for 10 mu g/m(3) PM2.5: 1.06; 95% confidence interval = 1.00, 1.13) and pulmonary (1.11; 1.02, 1.20) age-adjusted mortality rates was found. Cardiovascular (1.06; 0.99, 1.13) and all causes (1.02; 0.98, 1.07) were positive, but not significant. No significant association was found between cancer and lung cancer. The positive associations remained even when controlling for multiple confounding factors, model specifications, and when considering different methods for exposure characterization. These estimates are in line with results from cohort studies from the United States and European studies. Conclusion:Three-year average PM2.5 exposure is positively associated with the age-adjusted mortality rate for cardiopulmonary and cardiovascular causes in Chile. This provides evidence of the medium-term exposure effect of fine particles on long-term mortality rates.
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    Short-term exposure to fine particulate pollution and elderly mortality in Chile
    (2024) Busch, Pablo; Rocha, Paulo; Lee, Kyung Jin; Cifuentes, Luis Abdon; Tai, Xiao Hui
    Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is known to cause adverse health outcomes. Most of the evidence has been derived from developed countries, with lower pollution levels and different demographics and comorbidities from the rest of the world. Here we leverage new satellite-based measurements of PM2.5, combined with comprehensive public records in Chile, to study the effect of PM2.5 pollution on elderly mortality. We find that a 10 mu g/m3 monthly increase in PM2.5 exposure is associated with a 1.7% increase (95% C.I.: 1.1-2.4%) in all-cause mortality for individuals aged 75+. Satellite-based measurements allow us to comprehensively investigate heterogeneous effects. We find remarkably similar effect sizes across baseline exposure, rural and urban areas, income, and over time, demonstrating consistency in the evidence on mortality effects of PM2.5 exposure. The most notable source of heterogeneity is geographical, with effects closer to 5% in the center-south and in the metropolitan area.