A Methodology of Health Effects Estimation from Air Pollution in Large Asian Cities

• Published in: Environments (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 4; no. 3; p. 60
• Main Authors: Hirota, Keiko, Sakamoto, Shogo, Shibuya, Satoshi, Kashima, Shigeru
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.09.2017
• Subjects: Air pollution; Air pollution effects; Air quality; Asia; Cities; compensation system; Correlation; correlation model; Decision making; Health risk assessment; Mortality; Pollution; Population (statistical); Public health; relative risk; Respiratory diseases; Statistics; Studies; Singapore; Cambodia; United States > US; Philippines; Japan; Thailand; Bangkok Thailand; India; Beijing China; Vietnam; Mongolia; Pakistan; Islamabad Pakistan; China; Laos; Indonesia
• ISSN: 2076-3298; 2076-3298
• DOI: 10.3390/environments4030060

The increase of health effects caused by air pollution seems to be a growing concern in Asian cities with increasing motorization. This paper discusses methods of estimating the health effects of air pollution in large Asian cities. Due to the absence of statistical data in Asia, this paper carefully chooses the methodology using data of the Japanese compensation system. A basic idea of health effects will be captured from simple indicators, such as population and air quality, in a correlation model. This correlation model enables more estimation results of respiratory mortality caused by air pollution to be yielded than by using the relative model. The correlation model could be an alternative method to estimate mortality besides the relative risk model since the results of the correlation model are comparable with those of the relative model by city and by time series. The classification of respiratory diseases is not known from the statistical yearbooks in many countries. Estimation results could support policy decision-making with respect to public health in a cost-effective way.