2026-04-13T07:19:15Zhttps://recercat.cat/oai/request

oai:recercat.cat:2117/1751082026-02-09T07:12:05Zcom_2072_1033col_2072_452950

00925njm 22002777a 4500 dc Ostro, Bart author Tobias Garcés, Aurelio author Karanasiou, Angeliki author Samoli, Evangelia author Querol, Xavier author Rodopoulou, Sophia author Basagaña Flores, Xavier author Eleftheriadis, Kostas author Diapouli, Evangelia author Vratolis, Stergios author Jacquemin, Bénédicte author Katsouyanni, Klea author Sunyer, Jordi author Forastiere, Francesco author Stafoggia, Massimo author Study Group, MED-PARTICLES author Agis Cherta, David author 2015-01-09 While several studies have reported associations of daily exposures to PM2.5 (particles less than 2.5 µm) with mortality, few studies have examined the impact of its constituents such as black carbon (BC), which is also a significant contributor to global climate change. Methods: We assessed the association between daily concentrations of BC and total, cardiovascular and respiratory mortality in two southern Mediterranean cities. Daily averages of BC were collected for 2 years in Barcelona, Spain and Athens, Greece. We used case-crossover analysis and examined single and cumulative lags up to 3 days. Results: We observed associations between BC and all mortality measures. For a 3-day moving average, cardiovascular mortality increased by 4.5% (95% CI 0.7 to 8.5) and 2.0% (95% CI 0 to 4.0) for an interquartile change in BC in Athens and Barcelona, respectively. Considerably higher effects for respiratory mortality and for those above age 65 were observed. In addition, BC exhibited much greater toxicity per microgram than generic PM2.5. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that BC, derived in western industrialised nations primarily from diesel engines and biomass burning, poses a significant burden to public health, particularly in European cities with high-traffic density. Peer Reviewed Postprint (published version) Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Matemàtiques i estadística Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Ciències de la salut::Impacte ambiental Air -- Pollution Cardiovascular system -- Diseases Aire -- Contaminació Sistema cardiovascular -- Malalties Cor -- Malalties The risks of acute exposure to black carbon in Southern Europe: results from the MED-PARTICLES project