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66/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 66 out of 100. Prevention and risk

Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies

Importance Ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution is associated with increased risk of several causes of death. However, epidemiologic evidence suggests that current knowledge does not comprehensively capture all causes of death associated with PM2.5 exposure. Objective To systematically identify causes of death associated with PM2.5 pollution and estimate the burden of death for each cause in the United States. Burden of death associated with PM2.5 exposure in the contiguous United States and for each state was then estimated by application of estimated risk functions to county-level PM2.5 estimates from the US Environmental Protection Agency and cause-specific death rate data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Main outcomes and measures Nonlinear exposure-response functions of the association between PM2.5 and causes of death and burden of death associated with PM2.5. Results A cohort of 4 522 160 US veterans (4 243 462 [93.8%] male; median [interquartile range] age, 64.1 [55.7-75.5] years; 3 702 942 [82.0%] white, 667 550 [14.8%] black, and 145 593 [3.2%] other race) was followed up for a median (interquartile range) of 10.0 (6.8-10.2) years. In the contiguous United States, PM2.5 exposure was associated with excess burden of death due to cardiovascular disease (56 070.1 deaths [95% uncertainty interval {UI}, 51 940.2-60 318.3 deaths]), cerebrovascular disease (40 466.1 deaths [95% UI, 21 770.1-46 487.9 deaths]), chronic kidney disease (7175.2 deaths [95% UI, 5910.2-8371.9 deaths]), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (645.7 deaths [95% UI, 300.2-2490.9 deaths]), dementia (19 851.5 deaths [95% UI, 14 420.6-31 621.4 deaths]), type 2 diabetes (501.3 deaths [95% UI, 447.5-561.1 deaths]), hypertension (30 696.9 deaths [95% UI, 27 518.1-33 881.9 deaths]), lung cancer (17 545.3 deaths [95% UI, 15 055.3-20 464.5 deaths]), and pneumonia (8854.9 deaths [95% UI, 7696.2-10 710.6 deaths]). Estimated burden of death due to nonaccidental causes was 197 905.1 deaths (95% UI, 183 463.3-213 644.9 deaths); mean age-standardized death rates (per 100 000) due to nonaccidental causes were higher among black individuals (55.2 [95% UI, 50.5-60.6]) than nonblack individuals (51.0 [95% UI, 46.4-56.1]) and higher among those living in counties with high (65.3 [95% UI, 56.2-75.4]) vs low (46.1 [95% UI, 42.3-50.4]) socioeconomic deprivation; 99.0% of the burden of death due to nonaccidental causes was associated with PM2.5 levels below standards

Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris

APA 7th

Bowe, B., Xie, Y., Yan, Y., & Al-Aly, Z. (2019). Burden of Cause-Specific Mortality Associated With PM2.5 Air Pollution in the United States. JAMA network open. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.15834

Vancouver

Bowe B, Xie Y, Yan Y, Al-Aly Z. Burden of Cause-Specific Mortality Associated With PM2.5 Air Pollution in the United States. JAMA network open. 2019. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.15834. PMID: 31747037.

BibTeX

@article{bowe2019-31747037,
  author  = {Bowe, B. and Xie, Y. and Yan, Y. and Al-Aly, Z.},
  title   = {{Burden of Cause-Specific Mortality Associated With PM2.5 Air Pollution in the United States}},
  journal = {JAMA network open},
  year    = {2019},
  doi     = {10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.15834},
  pmid    = {31747037},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.15834}
}

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Key findings

Importance Ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution is associated with increased risk of several causes of death.
However, epidemiologic evidence suggests that current knowledge does not comprehensively capture all causes of death associated with PM2.5 exposure.
Objective To systematically identify causes of death associated with PM2.5 pollution and estimate the burden of death for each cause in the United States.
Burden of death associated with PM2.5 exposure in the contiguous United States and for each state was then estimated by application of estimated risk functions to county-level PM2.5 estimates from the US Environmental Protection Agency and cause-specific death rate data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Main outcomes and measures Nonlinear exposure-response functions of the association between PM2.5 and causes of death and burden of death associated with PM2.5.

Why it matters

This cohort study of US veterans estimated the burden of death associated with PM2.5 air pollution for several causes, including cardiovascular disease and cerebrovascular disease. It concerns mortality burden from air pollution and does not address treating, curing, or preventing Alzheimer's disease.

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Study details

Study designcohort study
Effect size93.8%; 82.0%; 14.8%
Evidence strengthModerate

How this study scored 66/100

Published in a leading specialty journal, and it is a cohort study following people over time. Scored zero for sample size, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	9 / 10	Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (JAMA network open)
Journal's citation record	2 / 4	JAMA Network Open: journal h-index 235 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29)
Study design	7 / 12	A cohort study following people over time
Strength of evidence	3 / 5	Rated “moderate” in our summary
Peer-review validation	10 / 10	Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal.
How recent	2 / 5	2019 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	0 / 4	Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Effect reported	2 / 3	Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test
Studied in people	0 / 3	Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Randomised / blinded	0 / 2	No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Times cited	6 / 7	Cited 368 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	4 / 5	40.9 citations a year over 9 year(s) since 2019
Impact for its field and year	4 / 6	Cited 16.2× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	2 / 6	Cited by 7 other studies in this library
Still being cited	3 / 4	Cited 143 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	4 / 4	Last-listed author Ziyad Al‐Aly: h-index 104 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	2 / 3	Washington University in St. Louis: institution h-index 1,962 (OpenAlex)
Multi-centre collaboration	2 / 3	OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 1 country
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 31747037)
Free to read	2 / 2	Free to read
Total	66 / 100	—

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