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Leogrande S, Alessandrini ER, Stafoggia M, Morabito A, Nocioni A, Ancona C, Bisceglia L, Mataloni F, Giua R, Mincuzzi A, Minerba S, Spagnolo S, Pastore T, Tanzarella A, Assennato G, Forastiere F. Industrial air pollution and mortality in the Taranto area, Southern Italy: A difference-in-differences approach. Environ Int 2019; 132:105030. [PMID: 31398654 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2019.105030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2018] [Revised: 07/15/2019] [Accepted: 07/16/2019] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND A large steel plant close to the urban area of Taranto (Italy) has been operating since the sixties. Several studies conducted in the past reported an excess of mortality and morbidity from various diseases at the town level, possibly due to air pollution from the plant. However, the relationship between air pollutants emitted from the industry and adverse health outcomes has been controversial. We applied a variant of the "difference-in-differences" (DID) approach to examine the relationship between temporal changes in exposure to industrial PM10 from the plant and changes in cause-specific mortality rates at area unit level. METHODS We examined a dynamic cohort of all subjects (321,356 individuals) resident in the Taranto area in 1998-2010 and followed them up for mortality till 2014. In this work, we included only deaths occurring on 2008-2014. We observed a total of 15,303 natural deaths in the cohort and age-specific annual death rates were computed for each area unit (11 areas in total). PM10 and NO2 concentrations measured at air quality monitoring stations and the results of a dispersion model were used to estimate annual average population weighted exposures to PM10 of industrial origin for each year, area unit and age class. Changes in exposures and in mortality were analyzed using Poisson regression. RESULTS We estimated an increased risk in natural mortality (1.86%, 95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.06, 3.83%) per 1 μg/m3 annual change of industrial PM10, mainly driven by respiratory causes (8.74%, 95% CI: 1.50, 16.51%). The associations were statistically significant only in the elderly (65+ years). CONCLUSIONS The DID approach is intuitively simple and reduces confounding by design. Under the multiple assumptions of this approach, the study indicates an effect of industrial PM10 on natural mortality, especially in the elderly population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simona Leogrande
- Local Health Service Taranto, Viale Virgilio 31, Taranto, Italy.
| | - Ester Rita Alessandrini
- Department of Epidemiology, Lazio Regional Health Service, Rome - ASL Roma 1, Via Cristoforo Colombo, 112, Italy.
| | - Massimo Stafoggia
- Department of Epidemiology, Lazio Regional Health Service, Rome - ASL Roma 1, Via Cristoforo Colombo, 112, Italy.
| | | | | | - Carla Ancona
- Department of Epidemiology, Lazio Regional Health Service, Rome - ASL Roma 1, Via Cristoforo Colombo, 112, Italy.
| | | | - Francesca Mataloni
- Department of Epidemiology, Lazio Regional Health Service, Rome - ASL Roma 1, Via Cristoforo Colombo, 112, Italy.
| | | | - Antonia Mincuzzi
- Local Health Service Taranto, Viale Virgilio 31, Taranto, Italy.
| | - Sante Minerba
- Local Health Service Taranto, Viale Virgilio 31, Taranto, Italy.
| | | | | | | | | | - Francesco Forastiere
- Department of Epidemiology, Lazio Regional Health Service, Rome - ASL Roma 1, Via Cristoforo Colombo, 112, Italy; Institute of Biomedicine and Molecular Immunology (IBIM), National Research Council, Via Ugo La Malfa 153, Palermo, Italy; Environmental Research Group, King's College, Stamford Street, London, UK.
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Benedetti M, De Santis M, Manno V, Minerba S, Mincuzzi A, Morabito A, Panocchia N, Soggiu ME, Tanzarella A, Pastore T, Bossola M, Giua R, Leogrande S, Nocioni A, Conti S, Comba P. Spatial distribution of kidney disease in the contaminated site of Taranto (Italy). Am J Ind Med 2017; 60:1088-1099. [PMID: 29027241 DOI: 10.1002/ajim.22781] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/16/2017] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Exposure to heavy metals has been associated with kidney disease. We investigated the spatial distribution of kidney disease in the industrially contaminated site of Taranto. METHODS Cases were subjects with a first hospital discharge diagnosis of kidney disease. Cases affected by specific comorbidities were excluded. Standardized Hospitalization Ratios (SHRs) were computed for low/high exposure area and for modeled spatial distribution of cadmium and fine particulate matter. RESULT Using the high/low exposure approach, in subjects aged 20-59 years residing in the high exposure area a significant excess of hospitalization was observed in males and a non-significant excess in females. No excesses were observed in subjects aged 60 years and over. The analysis by the modeling approach did not show a significant association with the greatest pollution impact area. CONCLUSION Due to the excesses of hospitalization observed in the high/low exposure approach, a continuing epidemiological surveillance of residents and occupational groups is warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Benedetti
- Department of Environment and Health (DAMSA); Istituto Superiore di Sanità; Rome Italy
| | - Marco De Santis
- Department of Environment and Health (DAMSA); Istituto Superiore di Sanità; Rome Italy
| | - Valerio Manno
- Unit of Statistics; Istituto Superiore di Sanità; Rome Italy
| | - Sante Minerba
- Epidemiological and Statistical Unit; Azienda Sanitaria Locale Taranto; Taranto Italy
| | - Antonella Mincuzzi
- Epidemiological and Statistical Unit; Azienda Sanitaria Locale Taranto; Taranto Italy
| | - Angela Morabito
- Apulia Region Environmental Protection Agency (ARPA PUGLIA); Bari Italy
| | - Nicola Panocchia
- Haemodialysis Service; Department of Surgery; Università Cattoloca del Sacro Cuore; Rome Italy
| | - Maria Eleonora Soggiu
- Department of Environment and Health (DAMSA); Istituto Superiore di Sanità; Rome Italy
| | | | - Tiziano Pastore
- Apulia Region Environmental Protection Agency (ARPA PUGLIA); Bari Italy
| | - Maurizio Bossola
- Haemodialysis Service; Department of Surgery; Università Cattoloca del Sacro Cuore; Rome Italy
| | - Roberto Giua
- Apulia Region Environmental Protection Agency (ARPA PUGLIA); Bari Italy
| | - Simona Leogrande
- Epidemiological and Statistical Unit; Azienda Sanitaria Locale Taranto; Taranto Italy
| | | | - Susanna Conti
- Unit of Statistics; Istituto Superiore di Sanità; Rome Italy
| | - Pietro Comba
- Department of Environment and Health (DAMSA); Istituto Superiore di Sanità; Rome Italy
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