American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · May 2021
Air Pollution as a Risk Factor for Incident COPD and Asthma: 15-Year Population-Based Cohort Study.
Rationale: Current evidence on the relationship between long-term exposure to air pollution and new onset of chronic lung disease is inconclusive. Objectives: To examine associations of incident chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and adult-onset asthma with past exposure to fine particulate matter ≤ 2.5 μm in diameter (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O3), and the redox-weighted average of NO2 and O3 (Ox) and characterize the concentration-response relationship. Methods: We conducted a population-based cohort study of all Ontarians, aged 35-85 years, from 2001 to 2015. ⋯ In addition, we quantified that each IQR increase in pollution exposure yielded 3.0 (2.4-3.6), 3.2 (2.0-4.3), 1.9 (1.3-2.5), and 2.3 (1.7-2.9) excess cases of COPD per 100,000 adults for PM2.5, NO2, O3, and Ox, respectively. Furthermore, most pollutant-COPD relationships exhibited supralinear shapes. Conclusions: Air pollution was associated with a higher incidence of COPD but was not associated with a higher incidence of adult-onset asthma.