Institute for Cancer Prevention, Florence, Italy.
Environ Health Perspect. 2011 Oct;119(10):1409-14. doi: 10.1289/ehp.1003026.
Outbreaks of Saharan-Sahel dust over Euro-Mediterranean areas frequently induce exceedances of the Europen Union's 24-hr standard of 50 μg/m3 for particulate matter (PM) with aerodynamic diameter ≤ than 10 μm (PM10).
We evaluated the effect of Saharan dust on the association between different PM fractions and daily mortality in Rome, Italy.
In a study of 80,423 adult residents who died in Rome between 2001 and 2004, we performed a time-series analysis to explore the effects of PM2.5, PM2.5-10, and PM10 on natural, cardiac, cerebrovascular, and respiratory mortality. We defined Saharan dust days by combining light detection and ranging (LIDAR) observations and analyses from operational models. We tested a Saharan dust-PM interaction term to evaluate the hypothesis that the effects of PM, especially coarse PM (PM2.5-10), on mortality would be enhanced on dust days.
Interquartile range increases in PM2.5-10 (10.8 μg/m3) and PM10 (19.8 μg/m3) were associated with increased mortality due to natural, cardiac, cerebrovascular, and respiratory causes, with estimated effects ranging from 2.64% to 12.65% [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.18-25.42%] for the association between PM2.5-10 and respiratory mortality (0- to 5-day lag). Associations of PM2.5-10 with cardiac mortality were stronger on Saharan dust days (9.73%; 95% CI, 4.25-15.49%) than on dust-free days (0.86%; 95% CI, -2.47% to 4.31%; p = 0.005). Saharan dust days also modified associations between PM10 and cardiac mortality (9.55% increase; 95% CI, 3.81-15.61%; vs. dust-free days: 2.09%; 95% CI, -0.76% to 5.02%; p = 0.02).
We found evidence of effects of PM2.5-10 and PM10 on natural and cause-specific mortality, with stronger estimated effects on cardiac mortality during Saharan dust outbreaks. Toxicological and biological effects of particles from desert sources need to be further investigated and taken into account in air quality standards.
撒哈拉-萨赫勒地区的沙尘暴经常导致欧洲联盟对粒径小于等于 10 微米的颗粒物（PM10）的 24 小时标准 50μg/m3 超标。
我们评估了撒哈拉尘埃对意大利罗马不同 PM 分数与每日死亡率之间关联的影响。
在一项对 2001 年至 2004 年期间在罗马死亡的 80423 名成年居民的研究中，我们进行了时间序列分析，以探讨 PM2.5、PM2.5-10 和 PM10 对自然、心脏、脑血管和呼吸道死亡率的影响。我们通过结合光探测和测距（LIDAR）观测和操作模型分析来定义撒哈拉尘埃日。我们测试了撒哈拉尘埃-PM 相互作用项，以评估 PM，特别是粗 PM（PM2.5-10）对死亡率的影响在尘埃日会增强的假设。
PM2.5-10（10.8μg/m3）和 PM10（19.8μg/m3）的四分位距增加与自然、心脏、脑血管和呼吸道原因导致的死亡率增加有关，估计影响范围从 PM2.5-10 与呼吸道死亡率之间的关联的 2.64%到 12.65%（95%置信区间（CI）为 1.18-25.42%）（0 至 5 天滞后）。与无尘埃日相比（-2.47%至 4.31%；p=0.005），PM2.5-10 与心脏死亡率的关联在撒哈拉尘埃日更强（9.73%；95%CI，4.25-15.49%）。撒哈拉尘埃日还改变了 PM10 与心脏死亡率之间的关联（增加 9.55%；95%CI，3.81-15.61%；与无尘埃日相比：2.09%；95%CI，-0.76%至 5.02%；p=0.02）。
我们发现了 PM2.5-10 和 PM10 对自然和特定病因死亡率的影响的证据，在撒哈拉尘埃爆发期间，对心脏死亡率的估计影响更大。需要进一步研究来自沙漠源的颗粒的毒理学和生物学效应，并将其纳入空气质量标准。
