Cardiovascular, respiratory, and total mortality ascribed to PM10 and PM2.5 exposure in Isfahan, Iran

Air pollution is an important environmental issue due to its proven serious impacts on human health. The aim of this study was to estimate the attribution of particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameters of ≤ 2.5 and 10 (PM2.5 and PM10) in the prevalence of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and premature deaths in Isfahan in 2013–2014.

This descriptive, ecological study was conducted to assess health impacts of PM2.5 and PM10 on the population using Air Q2.2.3 software, suggested by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The results showed that the annual mean, winter mean, summer mean, and the 98 percentile of PM10 concentration in Isfahan were 108, 100, 116, and 264 μg/m3, respectively. The number of deaths per year related to PM2.5 was 670 and that for PM10 was 713 cases. The number of annual deaths due to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases attributed to PM10 was 316 and 68 cases, respectively.

The results of this study revealed that about 44.3% of total annual death due to cardiovascular diseases and 9.55% of that due to respiratory diseases were attributed to PM10 exposure. In the other word, residents were exposed to PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations higher than the WHO guidelines which caused a notable increase in the rate of mortality.