Interactive Associations of Atmospheric Humidity and Air Pollutants with Self-reported Chronic Lung Disease Risk: Evidence from a Nationwide Population-Based Study in China.

Association between ambient air pollution and skin health in middle-aged and older adults: the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study

Long-term exposure to ambient air pollution is a significant public health concern, yet its specific association with skin diseases in the Chinese middle-aged and older population remains insufficiently characterized, with limited evidence on the role of individual pollutants. We analyzed prospective data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), a nationally representative cohort. Participants aged ≥ 45 years from the 2011 baseline survey were followed through 2018. Annual average concentrations of PM2.5, PM10, NO2, SO2, and PM1 at participants’ community residences were assessed using satellite-based models with 1-km resolution. Skin disease was defined by a self-reported physician diagnosis or related symptoms. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs), adjusting for demographic, socioeconomic, lifestyle, and health-related covariates. Sensitivity analyses included age-restricted (≥65 years) and incident-case cohorts, and propensity score matching. Among 7,894 participants, long-term exposure to higher levels of PM2.5 (fully adjusted OR = 1.25, 95% CI: 1.13–1.38), PM10 (OR = 1.18, 95% CI: 1.04–1.32), and NO2 (OR = 1.15, 95% CI: 1.02–1.29) was significantly associated with higher odds of skin disease. Associations for SO2 and PM1 were not statistically significant. Results remained consistent across all sensitivity analyses, supporting the robustness of the findings. This national cohort study provides evidence that long-term exposure to PM2.5, PM10, and NO2 is associated with higher odds of skin diseases among Chinese middle-aged and older adults. These findings suggest that air pollution control may represent a potential intervention target for reducing the burden of skin disease in aging populations.

Long-Term Air Pollution Exposure, Cardiovascular Disease, and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Middle-Aged and Older Chinese Adults: A Prospective Cohort Study

The substantial burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) attributable to air pollution remains a critical public health challenge, yet its combined effect with cardiometabolic factors is not fully understood. This study leveraged data from the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) and the China High Air Pollutants (CHAP) database to evaluate the CVD burden attributable to air pollution, which was found to increase progressively with age. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis using baseline (2011) data from 7420 participants aged ≥ 45 years in the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), and a prospective cohort analysis in 8792 participants followed through 2020. In the longitudinal analysis, long-term exposure to PM2.5 (HR = 1.09, 95% CI: 1.03–1.16) and PM10 (HR = 1.07, 95% CI: 1.04–1.10) was significantly associated with an elevated risk of incident CVD, whereas the association for NO2 was nominally significant (HR = 1.12, 95% CI: 1.00–1.24) and that for O3 was not statistically significant (HR = 1.08, 95% CI: 0.93–1.27). Furthermore, prolonged exposure to these pollutants was associated with a higher prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and obesity, and with adverse levels of metabolic indicators, including the TyG, TyG-BMI, and TyG-WC indices. A random forest model showed modest discrimination for incident CVD (AUC = 0.656), identifying PM10 and PM2.5 as the most important predictors. In conclusion, long-term exposure to ambient air pollution, particularly particulate matter, is associated with an increased risk of CVD and cardiometabolic disorders in middle-aged and older Chinese adults.

Association Between Air Quality and Major Respiratory Diseases in Relation to Particulate Matter (PM10, PM2.5) and Gaseous Pollutants in Iğdır, Türkiye

This study examines the long-term associations between ambient air pollutants and the burden of major respiratory and infectious diseases in this geographically sensitive region. A retrospective analysis was conducted using ICD-10-coded hospital records of patients diagnosed with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), bronchitis, and tuberculosis from January 2020 to June 2026. These data were integrated with in situ air quality measurements, including PM10, PM2.5, and SO2, as well as satellite-derived Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) from MODIS. Disease incidence was stratified by year, sex, and age groups (0–85+ years) to assess demographic susceptibility patterns. Respiratory diseases constituted a substantial public health burden over the study period. Asthma showed a marked female predominance (≈29,700 females vs. ≈16,000 males) and a bimodal age distribution with peaks in early childhood (0–5 years) and mid-adulthood (35–50 years). COPD was predominantly observed in males (≈8300 males vs. ≈5500 females), with a higher median age range (≈67–70 years). Bronchitis exhibited a similar bimodal pattern, disproportionately affecting both pediatric and elderly populations, while overall case numbers declined over time. Tuberculosis incidence was approximately threefold higher in males than females, with notable age-related divergence, affecting younger females (≈30–32 years) and middle-aged males (≈42–45 years). The findings suggest a spatial–temporal correspondence between elevated pollutant concentrations and respiratory disease prevalence in the Iğdır Basin. The observed sex- and age-specific disparities underscore the potential value of region-specific environmental health strategies, strengthened air quality management, and continuous epidemiological surveillance in enclosed basin environments.

Detectability of short-term associations between ambient air pollution and cardiovascular morbidity: An ecological time-series analysis under heterogeneous atmospheric conditions

Introduction: Short-term associations between ambient air pollution and cardiovascular morbidity remain inconsistent across different settings. This study evaluated these associations using Generalized Additive Models (GAMs) and examined the robustness of the findings through lag and sensitivity analyses. Materials and methods: An ecological time-series analysis was conducted using a publicly available environmental–health dataset comprising 5,811 daily observations of air pollutant concentrations, meteorological variables, and aggregated cardiovascular morbidity indicators. GAMs with penalized smoothing splines were fitted to assess potentially non-linear exposure– response relationships while adjusting for meteorological covariates. Lag structures (Lag 0–3 days), alternative spline dimensions, and multi-pollutant models were evaluated as sensitivity analyses. Results: The final GAM demonstrated limited explanatory capacity (AIC=25,602.9; AICc=25,604.6; explained deviance=1.04%). Pollutant smooth terms showed shallow non-linear exposure–response patterns (effective degrees of freedom: 8.36-9.40), but none were statistically significant (PM₂.₅: p=0.357; PM₁₀: p=0.950; NO₂: p=0.594; SO₂: p=0.339; O₃: p=0.530). Sensitivity analyses produced consistent results across alternative lag structures and spline dimensions, and model diagnostics indicated satisfactory fit without evidence of substantial over dispersion. Conclusion: Only shallow, statistically non-significant short-term associations were identified. These findings should be interpreted within the limitations of the ecological design, potential exposure misclassification, and residual confounding.

Joint association of air pollutants and lifestyles on early-/late-onset heart failure: a population-based prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS The interaction between air pollutants and lifestyles on heart failure (HF) and its variation by age of HF onset remains unclear. We aim to assess the joint association of air pollutants and lifestyles with HF and examine whether it differs between early- and late-onset HF. METHODS : A cohort of 233,341 UK Biobank participants (2006-2010 baseline, followed up until 2023) was analyzed. Air pollution (NO2, NOx, PM10, PM2.5, PM2.5-10) and lifestyle (physical activity, smoking, sleep, diet, drinking, BMI) scores were computed, where higher scores indicated exposure to heavier air pollution or more unhealthy lifestyles. Cox models evaluated their associations with HF risk, and interactions were tested multiplicatively and additively. RESULTS : High air pollution (scores in top tertile) and unfavourable lifestyle (scores up to 5∼6) were associated with higher HF risk independently. Joint-exposure analyses revealed that unfavourable lifestyle and high air pollution were jointly linked to HF, which appeared stronger for early-onset HF [relative excess risk due to interaction: 0.44 (95%CI:0.14∼0.74) for all HF, 1.33 (95%CI:0.03∼2.62) for early-onset HF, 0.39 (95%CI:0.08∼0.70) for late-onset HF; p-value for the early-versus-late interaction contrast=0.08]. In turn, lifestyle differences [between unfavourable (5∼6) and favourable (0∼2)] were associated with larger HF incidence differences in high than low air pollution group, especially for early-onset HF [1.62-fold (95%CI:1.42∼1.84) for all HF, 3.35-fold (95%CI:1.76∼9.79) for early-onset HF, 1.52-fold (95%CI:1.33∼1.74) for late-onset HF]. CONCLUSIONS : Air pollutants and lifestyles are jointly associated with HF risk, with young adults in air-polluted areas potentially gaining greater benefits from lifestyle differences.

Assessing additive interactions of heat wave, fine particulate matter, and ozone on cardiovascular mortality in a typical cold region of China: A time-stratified case-crossover study.