Mortality associated with particulate concentration and Asian dust storms in Metropolitan Taipei

This study evaluates mortality risks from all causes, circulatory diseases, and respiratory diseases associated with particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) concentrations and Asian dust storms (ADS) from 2000 to 2008 in Metropolitan Taipei. This study uses a distributed lag non-linear model with Poisson distribution to estimate the cumulative 5-day (lags 0–4) relative risks (RRs) and confidence intervals (CIs) of cause-specific mortality associated with daily PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations, as well as ADS, for total (all ages) and elderly (≥65 years) populations based on study periods (ADS frequently inflicted period: 2000–2004; and less inflicted period: 2005–2008). Risks associated with ADS characteristics, including inflicted season (winter and spring), strength (the ratio of stations with Pollutant Standard Index >100 is <0.5 or ≥0.5), and duration (ADS persisted for 1–3 or ≥4 days), were also evaluated. Nonlinear models showed that an increase in PM10 from 10 μg/m3 to 50 μg/m3 was associated with increased all-cause mortality risk with cumulative 5-day RR of 1.10 (95% CI: 1.04, 1.17) for the total population and 1.10 (95% CI: 1.02, 1.18) for elders. Mortality from circulatory diseases for the elderly was related to increased PM2.5 from 5 μg/m3 to 30 μg/m3, with cumulative 5-day RR of 1.21 (95% CI: 1.02, 1.44) from 2005 to 2008. Compared with normal days, the mortality from all causes and circulatory diseases for the elderly population was associated with winter ADS with RRs of 1.05 (95% CI: 1.01, 1.08) and 1.08 (95% CI: 1.01, 1.15), respectively. Moreover, all-cause mortality was associated with shorter and less area-affected ADS with an RR of 1.04 for total and elderly populations from 2000 to 2004. Population health risk differed not only with PM concentration but also with ADS characteristics.