Estimating the Excess Mortality Risk during Two Red Alert Periods in Beijing, China

Weilin Zeng, Lingling Lang, Yue Li, Lingchuan Guo, Hualiang Lin, Yonghui Zhang, Tao Liu, Jianpeng Xiao, Xing Li, Yanjun Xu, Xiaojun Xu, Lauren D. Arnold, Erik J. Nelson, Zhengmin Qian and Wenjun Ma
Additional contact information
Weilin Zeng: Guangdong Provincial Institute of Public Health, Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Guangzhou 511430, China
Lingling Lang: Guangdong Provincial Institute of Public Health, Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Guangzhou 511430, China
Yue Li: Jiangxi Medical School of Nanchang University, No. 461, Nanchang 330006, China
Lingchuan Guo: Guangdong Provincial Institute of Public Health, Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Guangzhou 511430, China
Hualiang Lin: Department of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
Yonghui Zhang: Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Guangzhou 511430, China
Tao Liu: Guangdong Provincial Institute of Public Health, Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Guangzhou 511430, China
Jianpeng Xiao: Guangdong Provincial Institute of Public Health, Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Guangzhou 511430, China
Xing Li: Guangdong Provincial Institute of Public Health, Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Guangzhou 511430, China
Yanjun Xu: Institute of Chronic Non-Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Guangzhou 511430, China
Xiaojun Xu: Institute of Chronic Non-Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Guangzhou 511430, China
Lauren D. Arnold: College for Public Health and Social Justice, Department of Epidemiology & Biostastics, Saint Louis University, Salus Center/Room 473, 3545 Lafayette Avenue, Saint Louis, MO 63104, USA
Erik J. Nelson: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
Zhengmin Qian: College for Public Health and Social Justice, Department of Epidemiology & Biostastics, Saint Louis University, Salus Center/Room 473, 3545 Lafayette Avenue, Saint Louis, MO 63104, USA
Wenjun Ma: Guangdong Provincial Institute of Public Health, Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Guangzhou 511430, China

IJERPH, 2017, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: The magnitude of excess mortality risk due to exposures to heavy air pollution during the red alert periods in Beijing remains unknown. A health impact assessment tool combined with the PM 2.5 -mortality relationship was applied to estimate the number of excess deaths due to high air pollution exposure during two red alert periods in Beijing, China in December 2015. Daily PM 2.5 concentration increased from 80.2 µg/m 3 to 159.8 µg/m 3 during the first red alert period and from 61.9 µg/m 3 to 226 µg/m 3 during the second period in 2015 when compared to daily PM 2.5 concentrations during the same calendar date of 2013 and 2014. It was estimated that 26 to 42 excessive deaths (including 14 to 34 cardiovascular deaths, and four to 16 respiratory deaths) occurred during the first period, and 40 to 65 excessive deaths (22 to 53 cardiovascular deaths, and six to 13 respiratory deaths) occurred during the second period. The results show that heavy smog may have substantially increased the mortality risk in Beijing, suggesting more stringent air pollution controlling measures should be implemented to protect the public health.

Keywords: particulate matter; air pollution; red alert; smog; mortality; Beijing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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