ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Correlation between Length of Life and Exposure
to Air Pollution
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Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health in Bytom,
Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland
Submission date: 2018-10-31
Final revision date: 2019-01-10
Acceptance date: 2019-01-12
Online publication date: 2019-10-07
Publication date: 2020-01-16
Corresponding author
Joanna Domagalska
Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health in Bytom, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2020;29(2):1361-1368
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ABSTRACT
According to the World Health Organization, air pollution contributes to shortened life expectancies
of UE citizens by an average of 8.6 months. The aim of our study was to see if there is a relationship
between exposure of inhabitants of cities to air pollution and the length of their lives, excluding deaths
caused by external causes. Average annual concentrations of air pollutants such as PM10, benzo(a)pyrene,
cadmium and lead in PM10 were based on data from the measuring stations, while the concentrations
of dioxins, furans and polychlorinated biphenyls were their own measurements. The average women’s
and men’s life expectancies in 11 cities in the year 2015, after excluding accidents and suicides, were
calculated on the basis of the registry of deaths. Inequalities in men’s and women’s life expectancies are
significant between cities and there is a relationship between exposure to air pollutants and the length
of men’s and women’s lives in each city, demonstrating a very strong correlation in the male population.
An effective tool for identifying significant risk factors affecting human health seems to be the multiple
regression model.