Associations between short-term exposure to gaseous pollutants and pulmonary heart disease-related mortality among elderly people in Chengdu, China

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary heart disease (PHD) has become a global burden, especially in low- and middle-income countries. However, very few studies have assessed the influence of air pollution on PHD. This is the first study to explore the association between gaseous pollutants and PHD-related mortality in the central Sichuan Basin of southwestern China. METHODS: Data on PHD-related mortality among elderly people (aged 60 and older) from 2013 to 2017 were collected from the Population Death Information Registration and Management System (PDIRMS). Data on air pollutants were collected from all 24 Municipal Environmental Monitoring Sites in Chengdu, and data on daily temperature, relative humidity, and atmospheric pressure were collected from the Chengdu Municipal Meteorological Bureau. An epidemiological design of time-stratified case-crossover was conducted to assess the association between short-term exposure to ambient gaseous pollutants and PHD-related mortality among elderly people. RESULTS: About 54,920 PHD-related deaths among people aged 60 and older were reported. After controlling for daily temperature, relative humidity, and atmospheric pressure, an IQR concentration increase in levels of sulfur dioxide (SO(2)) (13 μg/m(3)), nitrogen dioxide (NO(2)) (17 μg/m(3)), and ozone (O(3)) (74 μg/m(3)) was associated with 7.8, 6.2, and 5.5% increases in PHD-related mortality in people aged 60 and older, respectively. People over age 70 might have even higher susceptibility to PHD-related mortality associated with SO(2), NO(2), and O(3). Females and individuals with alternative marital statuses (widowed, divorced, or never married) had twice and more than twice the PHD-related mortality risk associated with SO(2) and NO(2) than males and married individuals, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Increased concentrations of ambient SO(2), NO(2), and O(3) were significantly and positively associated with PHD-related mortality in Chengdu, China. Sociodemographic factors – including gender, age, and marital status – may modify the acute health effects of gaseous pollutants. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12940-019-0500-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.