Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is generally accepted as a causal risk factor for mortality and linked to increased risk for chronic diseases such as lung cancer, heart disease, and stroke. These effects are observed even amongst populations living in areas where PM2.5 mass concentrations are lower (>12 μg/m3), but the magnitude and form of these associations remain poorly understood. The primary aim of the MAPLE study is to provide detailed characterization of the relationship between mortality and exposure to low concentrations of PM2.5 in Canada through the linkage of updated ambient PM2.5 exposure estimates to national population-based cohorts in Canada consisting of Canadian Census respondents.
Main Findings
Exposure to higher outdoor PM2.5 concentrations is associated with increased risk of non-accidental mortality across all cohorts. The inclusion of behavioural covariates in analytical models did not substantially change these results.
Observed associations between outdoor PM2.5 exposure and non-accidental mortality were attenuated with the addition of ozone (O3) or a measure of gaseous pollutant oxidant capacity (Ox) estimated using O3 and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations.
Exposure to outdoor PM2.5 is also associated with increased mortality due to chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, ischemic heart disease, respiratory disease, and type II diabetes.
Publications
Christidis T, Erickson AC, Pappin AJ, Crouse DL, Pinault LL, Weichenthal SA et al. Low concentrations of fine particle air pollution and mortality in the Canadian Community Health Survey cohort. Environ Health 2019;18:84. Read more
Crouse DL, Christidis T, Erickson A, Pinault L, Martin RV, Tjepkema M et al. Evaluating the sensitivity of PM2.5-mortality associations to the spatial and temporal scale of exposure assessment at low particle mass concentrations. Epidemiology 2020; 31(2):168-176. Read more
Erickson AC, Brauer M, Christidis T, Pinault L, Crouse DL, van Donkelaar A et al. Evaluation of a method to indirectly adjust for unmeasured covariates in the association between fine particulate matter and mortality. Environ Res 2019;175:108-116. Read more
Erickson AC, Christidis T, Pappin A, Brook JR, Crouse DL, Hystad P, et al. Disease assimilation: The mortality impacts of fine particulate matter on immigrants to Canada. Health Reports 2020;3:14-26. Read more
Latimer RNC, Martin RV. Interpretation of measured aerosol mass scattering efficiency over North America using a chemical transport model. Atmos Chem Phys 2019;19:2635-2653. Read more
Meng J, Li C, Martin R, van Donkelaar A, Hystad P, Brauer M. Estimated long-term (1981-2016) concentrations of ambient fine particulate matter across North America from chemical transport modeling, satellite remote sensing and ground-based measurements. Environ Sci Technol 2019;53(9):5071-5079. Read more
Pappin AJ, Christidis T, Pinault LL, Crouse DL, Tjepkema M, Erickson AC, et al. Examining the shape of the association between low levels of fine particulate matter and mortality across three cycles of the Canadian Census Health and Environment Cohort. Environ Health Perspect 2019;127(10). Read more
Pinault L, Tjepkema M, Crouse DL, Weichenthal S, van Donkelaar A, Martin RV et al. Risk estimates of mortality attributed to low concentrations of ambient fine particulate matter in the Canadian Community Health Survey cohort. Environ Health 2016;15:18. Read more
Pinault L, Weichenthal S, Crouse DL, Brauer M, Erickson A, van Donkelaar A et al. Associations between fine particulate matter and mortality in the 2001 Canadian Census Health and Environment Cohort. Environ Res 2017;159:406-415. Read more
Pinault L, Brauer M, Crouse DL, Weichenthal S, Erickson A, van Donkelaar A et al. Diabetes status and susceptibility to the effects of PM2.5 exposure on cardiovascular mortality in a national Canadian cohort. Epidemiology 2018;29:784-794. Read more