Fine-particulate air pollution and life expectancy in the United States

Abstract

Exposure to fine-particulate air pollution has been linked to increased morbidity and mortality, suggesting that sustained reductions in pollution exposure should result in improved life expectancy. This study directly evaluated changes in life expectancy associated with differential changes in fine-particulate air pollution. Regression models were used to estimate the association between reductions in pollution and changes in life expectancy with adjustment for changes in socioeconomic and demographic variables and proxy indicators for prevalence of smoking. A decrease of 10 μg per cubic meter in fine particulate matter concentration was associated with an estimated increase in life expectancy of 0.61 years with P = 0.04– AI-generated abstract.