Air Pollution and Incidence of Lung Cancer by Histological Type in Korean Adults: A Korean National Health Insurance Service Health Examinee Cohort Study

Da Hye Moon, Sung Ok Kwon, Sun-Young Kim and Woo Jin Kim
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Da Hye Moon: Department of Internal Medicine, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Korea
Sung Ok Kwon: Biomedical Research Institute, Kangwon National University Hospital, Chuncheon 24289, Korea
Sun-Young Kim: Department of Cancer Control and Population Health, Graduate School of Cancer Science and Policy, National Cancer Center, Goyang-si 10408, Korea
Woo Jin Kim: Department of Internal Medicine, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Korea

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 3, 1-11

Abstract: Studies have reported associations between long-term exposure to ambient air pollution and lung cancer. However, there have been inconsistent reports of such associations with lung cancer by histological type. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess the association of long-term exposure to particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter up to 10 μm (PM 10 ) and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) with lung cancer incidence by histological subtype in South Korea. This population-based cohort study included 6,567,909 cancer-free subjects from the Korean National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) database for 2006–2007. We linked population data to Korea Central Cancer Registry data to confirm lung cancer incidence for 2006–2013. Individual exposures to PM 10 and NO 2 were assessed as five-year average concentrations predicted at subjects’ district-specific home addresses for 2002–2007. We divided these exposures into two categories based on the 75th percentile. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) of lung cancer incidence for the upper 25% exposure compared to the low 75% by histological subtypes at diagnosis after adjusting for potential confounders. A total of 27,518 lung cancer were found between 2006 to 2013. The incidence of lung cancer was higher in males, smokers, drinkers and subjects with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Overall, we did not find an increased risk of lung cancer with higher exposure to PM 10 or NO 2 . However, high exposure to PM 10 was associated with increased risk of adenocarcinoma in comparison with lower exposure in males and current smokers (HR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.03–1.25). This study showed that long-term air pollution exposures were associated with an elevated risk of lung adenocarcinoma in male smokers in Korea.

Keywords: lung cancer; air pollution; adenocarcinoma (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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