Acute Stroke Mortality and Air Pollution: New Evidence from Shanghai, China

The association between air pollution and daily mortality, especially of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, has been confirmed by numerous studies. Recently, two studies conducted in Korea have identified air pollution as a new risk factor for ischemic stroke mortality . Nevertheless, the results still need to be replicated in other areas of the world. In Shanghai, the largest city in China, stroke has become one of the leading causes of death; and the stroke mortality reached 79.2 per 100,000 in the 37–79 age group during 1991 to 1999 with 87.2 and 71.4 per 100,000 for males and females respectively. Therefore, it is worthwhile to explore the relationship between air pollution and stroke mortality in Shanghai, since air pollution is a potentially preventive risk factor. In this study, we used a time-series approach to assess the relationship between air pollution and daily stroke mortality in one urban district of Shanghai, and we also explored the patterns of exposure-response relationship for the major air pollutants considered.