Short-term impact of particulate matter (PM(2.5)) on respiratory mortality in Madrid

Objectives: This paper sought to quantify the particulate matter (PM_2.5) pollutant's impact on short-term daily respiratory-cause mortality in the city of Madrid.

Methods: As our dependent variable, we took daily mortality registered in Madrid from 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2005, attributed to all diseases of the respiratory system as classified under heads J00–J99 of the ICD 10 and broken down as follows: J12–J18, pneumonia; J40–J44, chronic diseases of the respiratory system except asthma; J45–J46, asthma; and J96, respiratory failure.

Results: The relative risk (RR) for daily overall respiratory mortality was RR 1.0281 (1.0043–1.0520), with a proportional attributable risk (PAR) of 2.74%. This effect occurred in lag 1; respiratory failure, RR 1.0816 (1.0119–1.1512) and PAR 7.54% at lag 5; and pneumonia, RR 1.0438 (1.0001–1.0875) and PAR 4.19% at lag 6.

Conclusions: Our results reflect the association that exists between PM_2.5 concentrations and daily respiratory-cause mortality.