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A cohort study of intra-urban variations in volatile organic compounds and mortality, Toronto, Canada
Villeneuve, Paul J. Jerrett, Michael Su, Jason Burnett, Richard T. Chen, Hong Brook, Jeffrey Wheeler, Amanda J. Cakmak, Sabit Goldberg, Mark S.
Villeneuve, Paul J.
Jerrett, Michael
Su, Jason
Burnett, Richard T.
Chen, Hong
Brook, Jeffrey
Wheeler, Amanda J.
Cakmak, Sabit
Goldberg, Mark S.
Abstract
This study investigated associations between long-term exposure to ambient volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and mortality. 58,760 Toronto residents (≥35 years of age) were selected from tax filings and followed from 1982 to 2004. Death information was extracted using record linkage to national mortality data. Land-use regression surfaces for benzene, n-hexane, and total hydrocarbons were generated from sampling campaigns in 2002 and 2004 and assigned to residential addresses in 1982. Cox regression was used to estimate relationships between each VOC and non-accidental, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality. Positive associations were observed for each VOC. In multi-pollutant models the benzene and total hydrocarbon signals were strongest for cancer. The hazard ratio for cancer that corresponded to an increase in the interquartile range of benzene (0.13 μg/m3) was 1.06 (95% CI = 1.02–1.11). Our findings suggest ambient concentrations of VOCs were associated with cancer mortality, and that these exposures did not confound our previously reported associations between NO2 and cardiovascular mortality.
Keywords
volatile organic compounds, air pollution, nitrogen dioxide, cohort study, mortality, GIS, cancer, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease
Date
2013
Type
Journal article
Journal
Environmental Pollution
Book
Volume
183
Issue
Page Range
30-39
Article Number
ACU Department
Mary MacKillop Institute for Health Research
Faculty of Health Sciences
Faculty of Health Sciences
Collections
Relation URI
Source URL
Event URL
Open Access Status
License
All rights reserved
File Access
Controlled