Extreme temperatures and out-of-hospital coronary deaths in six large Chinese cities.

Background: The seasonal trend of out-of-hospital coronary death (OHCD) and sudden cardiac death has been observed, but whether extreme temperature serves as a risk factor is rarely investigated. We therefore aimed to evaluate the impact of extreme temperatures on OHCDs in China. We obtained death records of 126,925 OHCDs from six large Chinese cities (Harbin, Beijing, Tianjin, Nanjing, Shanghai and Guangzhou) during the period 2009-2011.

Global, regional, and national incidence and mortality for HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria during 1990-2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013.

Background: The Millennium Declaration in 2000 brought special global attention to HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria through the formulation of Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 6. The Global Burden of Disease 2013 study provides a consistent and comprehensive approach to disease estimation for between 1990 and 2013, and an opportunity to assess whether accelerated progress has occured since the Millennium Declaration.

Methods: To estimate incidence and mortality for HIV, we used the UNAIDS Spectrum model appropriately modified based on a systematic review of available studies of mortality with and without antiretroviral therapy (ART).

Effects of meteorological factors on daily hospital admissions for asthma in adults: a time-series analysis.

Background: There is limited evidence for the impacts of meteorological changes on asthma hospital admissions in adults in Shanghai, China.

Objectives: To quantitatively evaluate the short-term effects of daily mean temperature on asthma hospital admissions.

Methods: Daily hospital admissions for asthma and daily mean temperatures between January 2005 and December 2012 were analyzed.

Temporal relationship between hospital admissions for pneumonia and weather conditions in Shanghai, China: a time-series analysis.

Objectives: To explore the association between weather conditions and hospital admissions for pneumonia in Shanghai.

Design: A time-series analysis was performed for a period of 4 years (January 2008-December 2011). A generalised additive model was used to calculate the relative risks.

Acute effects of diurnal temperature range on mortality in 8 Chinese cities.

Diurnal temperature range (DTR) is a meteorological indicator closely associated with global climate change. There have been no multicity studies in China addressing the DTR-related health impact. We hypothesized that an increase of DTR is associated with higher daily mortality with a potential lag of effect, and investigated the acute effects of DTR on total, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality in 8 large Chinese cities from 2001 to 2010.

Acute effects of air pollution on asthma hospitalization in Shanghai, China.

Air pollution has been accepted as an important contributor to asthma development and exacerbation. However, the evidence is limited in China. In this study, we investigated the acute effect of air pollution on asthma hospitalization in Shanghai, China.

Ambient air pollution and daily outpatient visits for cardiac arrhythmia in Shanghai, China.

Background: Cardiac arrhythmias are cardiac rhythm disorders that comprise an important public health problem. Few prior studies have examined the association between ambient air pollution and arrhythmias in general populations in mainland China.

Methods: We performed a time-series analysis to investigate the short-term association between air pollution (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than 10 µm [PM10], sulfur dioxide [SO2], and nitrogen dioxide [NO2]) and outpatient visits for arrhythmia in Shanghai, China.

Global, regional, and national levels and causes of maternal mortality during 1990-2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013.

Background: The fifth Millennium Development Goal (MDG 5) established the goal of a 75% reduction in the maternal mortality ratio (MMR; number of maternal deaths per 100,000 livebirths) between 1990 and 2015. We aimed to measure levels and track trends in maternal mortality, the key causes contributing to maternal death, and timing of maternal death with respect to delivery.

Methods: We used robust statistical methods including the Cause of Death Ensemble model (CODEm) to analyse a database of data for 7065 site-years and estimate the number of maternal deaths from all causes in 188 countries between 1990 and 2013.

Public health benefits of reducing air pollution in Shanghai: a proof-of-concept methodology with application to BenMAP.

In recent years, levels of particulate matter (PM) air pollution in China have been relatively high, exceeding China's Class II standards in many cities and impacting public health. This analysis takes Chinese health impact functions and underlying health incidence, applies 2010-2012 modeled and monitored PM air quality data, and estimates avoided cases of mortality and morbidity in Shanghai, assuming achievement of China's Class II air quality standards. In Shanghai, the estimated avoided all cause mortality due to PM10 ranged from 13 to 55 cases per day and from 300 to 800 cases per year.

An integrated risk function for estimating the global burden of disease attributable to ambient fine particulate matter exposure.

Background: Estimating the burden of disease attributable to long-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in ambient air requires knowledge of both the shape and magnitude of the relative risk (RR) function. However, adequate direct evidence to identify the shape of the mortality RR functions at the high ambient concentrations observed in many places in the world is lacking.

Particulate air pollution and mortality in a cohort of Chinese men.

Few prior cohort studies exist in developing countries examining the association of ambient particulate matter (PM) with mortality. We examined the association of particulate air pollution with mortality in a prospective cohort study of 71,431 middle-aged Chinese men. Baseline data were obtained during 1990-1991.

Impact of haze and air pollution-related hazards on hospital admissions in Guangzhou, China.

Guangzhou is a metropolitan in south China with unique pollutants and geographic location. Unlike those in western countries and the rest of China, the appearance of haze in Guangzhou is often (about 278 days per year on average of 4 years). Little is known about the influence of these hazes on health.

Source, distribution, and health risk assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in urban street dust from Tianjin, China.

To better assess and understand potential health risk of urban residents exposed to urban street dust, the total concentration, sources, and distribution of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in 87 urban street dust samples from Tianjin as a Chinese megacity that has undergone rapid urbanization were investigated. In the meantime, potential sources of PAHs were identified using the principal component analysis (PCA), and the risk of residents' exposure to PAHs via urban street dust was calculated using the Incremental Lifetime Cancer Risk (ILCR) model. The results showed that the total PAHs (∑PAHs) in urban street dust from Tianjin ranged from 538 μg kg(-1) to 34.

Health effects of air pollution on length of respiratory cancer survival.

Background: Air pollution has been extensively and consistently linked with mortality. However, no study has investigated the health effects of air pollution on length of survival among diagnosed respiratory cancer patients.

Methods: In this study, we conducted a population-based study to investigate if air pollution exposure has adverse effects on survival time of respiratory cancer cases in Los Angeles (LA), CA and Honolulu, HI.

High temperature as a risk factor for infectious diarrhea in Shanghai, China.

Background: Recent studies indicate that ambient temperature could be a risk factor for infectious diarrhea, but evidence for such a relation is limited in China.

Methods: We investigated the short-term association between daily temperature and physician-diagnosed infectious diarrhea during 2008-2010 in Shanghai, China. We adopted a time-series approach to analyze the data and a quasi-Poisson regression model with a natural spline-smoothing function to adjust for long-term and seasonal trends, as well as other time-varying covariates.

Temperature and daily mortality in Suzhou, China: a time series analysis.

The evidence concerning the association between ambient temperature and mortality is limited in developing countries, especially in China. We assessed the effects of temperature on daily mortality between 2005 and 2008 in Suzhou, China. A Poisson regression model combined with a distributed-lag nonlinear model was used to examine the association between temperature and daily mortality.

Associations of particulate air pollution and daily mortality in 16 Chinese cities: an improved effect estimate after accounting for the indoor exposure to particles of outdoor origin.

People typically spend most of their time indoors. We modeled the daily indoor PM10 concentrations of outdoor origin using a set of exposure parameters, including the fraction of residences with air conditionings (AC), the fraction of time that windows are closed when cooling occurs for buildings with AC, the fractions of time that windows are open or closed for buildings with or without AC, the particle penetration factors, air change rates, and surface removal rate constant of PM10. We calculated the time-weighted average of the simulated indoor PM10 concentration of outdoor origin and the original recorded outdoor PM10 concentration.

Both low and high temperature may increase the risk of stroke mortality.

Objective: To examine temperature in relation to stroke mortality in a multicity time series study in China.

Methods: We obtained data on daily temperature and mortality from 8 large cities in China. We used quasi-Poisson generalized additive models and distributed lag nonlinear models to estimate the accumulative effects of temperature on stroke mortality across multiple days, adjusting for long-term and seasonal trends, day of the week, air pollution, and relative humidity.

Size-fractionated particle number concentrations and daily mortality in a Chinese city.

Background: Associations between airborne particles and health outcomes have been documented worldwide; however, there is limited information regarding health effects associated with different particle sizes.

Objectives: We explored the association between size-fractionated particle number concentrations (PNCs) and daily mortality in Shenyang, China.

Methods: We collected daily data on cause-specific mortality and PNCs for particles measuring 0.

Air pollution, temperature and pediatric influenza in Brisbane, Australia.

Previous studies have demonstrated the importance of weather variables in influencing the incidence of influenza. However, the role of air pollution is often ignored in identifying the environmental drivers of influenza. This research aims to examine the impacts of air pollutants and temperature on the incidence of pediatric influenza in Brisbane, Australia.

The effects of heat stress and its effect modifiers on stroke hospitalizations in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.

Purpose: Heat has been known to increase the risk of many health endpoints. However, few studies have examined its effects on stroke. The objective of this case-crossover study is to investigate the effects of high heat and its effect modifiers on the risk of stroke hospitalization in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.

Studying the effects of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on peripheral arterial disease in the United States.

Purpose: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are a group of prevalent pollutants which are produced by incomplete combustion of organic materials such as coal, fuel, tobacco smoking and food cooking. The associations between exposures to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and peripheral arterial disease (PAD) have not been well studied.

Methods: We used the 2001-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) to investigate the associations between eight monohydroxy urinary metabolites of four PAHs and PAD.