Summary:
Several epidemiologic studies provide evidence of an association between
mortality and daily concentrations of PM2.5. Little is known, however, about
which components of the particulate mixture are most dangerous to human health.
In this study we investigated the association between recent measurements of
PM2.5 mass and its components, and daily mortality in Athens between 2007 and
2009. Aiming to connect the suspended particulate matter on human health, it
has been applied generalized linear models Poisson. Specifically, using a
case-crossover, the relation of concentration and the chemical constituents of
the aerosols (PM2.5) with total, cardiovascular and respiratory mortality was
investigated. In this analysis, time series of PM for the wider area of Athens,
the concentrations of particles and their components, were correlated strongly
with all categories of mortality. Elemental carbon seems to be the most
dangerous component of PM2.5, which heavily influences the respiratory and
cardiovascular mortality. On the scales of dangerousness, sulphate, ammonium
ions and PM1 follow.
Keywords:
PM10, PM2.5, PM1, Chemical constituents of aerosols, Mortality
