RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Recent epidemiological studies have suggested that air pollution could be associated with suicide. However, other studies have criticized these results for being analytically weak and not taking into account potential confounding factors. As such, further studies examining the relationship under diverse contexts are necessary to help clarify this issue. This study explored the association between specific air pollutants (NO2, SO2, PM10, PM2.5, CO and O3) and suicide incidence in four Colombian cities after adjusting for climatic variables and holidays. METHODS: A time series of daily suicides among men and women living in Bogota, Medellin, Cali and Bucaramanga was generated using information from the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE) for the years 2011-2014. At the same time, the average daily concentration of each air pollutant for each city was obtained from monitoring stations belonging to the National Air Quality Surveillance System. Using this information together, we generated conditional Poisson models (stratified by day, month and year) for the suicide rate in men and women, with air pollutants as the principal explanatory variable. These models were adjusted for temperature, relative humidity, precipitation and holidays. RESULTS: No association was found between any of the examined pollutants and suicide: NO2 (IRR:0.99, 95% CI: 0.95-1.04), SO2 (IRR:0.99, 95% CI: 0.98-1.01), PM10 (IRR:0.99, 95% CI:0.95-1.03), PM2.5 (IRR:1.01, 95% CI: 0.98-1.05), CO (IRR:1.00, 95% CI:1.00-1.00) and O3 (IRR: 1.00, 95% CI: 0.96-1.04). In the same way, no association was found in stratified models by sex and age group neither in lagged and cumulative effects models. CONCLUSIONS: After adjusting for major confounding factors, we found no statistically significant association between air pollution and suicide in Colombia. These "negative" results provide further insight into the current discussion regarding the existence of such a relationship.
Asunto(s)
Contaminantes Atmosféricos/análisis , Exposición a Riesgos Ambientales , Material Particulado/análisis , Suicidio/estadística & datos numéricos , Contaminantes Atmosféricos/clasificación , Contaminación del Aire/análisis , Ciudades , Colombia/epidemiología , Incidencia , Material Particulado/clasificaciónRESUMEN
La atmósfera contiene varios gases que, en concentraciones mayores que las normales, pueden ser peligrosos para los seres humanos, animales y plantas. Todos estos gases potencialmente tóxicos se denominan "contaminantes del aire". Entre ellos se encuentran: monóxido de carbono (CO), el dióxido de azufre (SO2) y el dióxido de nitrógeno (NO2). Además de los gases, la atmósfera contiene una gran variedad de partículas sólidas y líquidas, de variados tamaños. El material particulado en suspensión (MPS) en el aire incluye partículas totales en suspensión (PTS), material particulado con diámetro aerodinámico mediano inferior a 10 µm (MP 10) y 2,5 µm (MP 2,5) respectivamente, partículas finas y ultrafinas. Se presentan una serie de gráficos que permiten observar los valores de Material Particulado menor a 10 micrones (PM 10), en las estaciones de Monitoreo de Calidad del Aire que posee la Ciudad de Buenos Aires (La Boca,Parque Centenario y Córdoba), las cuales registran las concentraciones de éste contaminante en forma continua (durante 24 horas, los 365 días del año), mediante métodos homologados internacionalmente. (AU)
Asunto(s)
Estaciones de Monitoreo , Monitoreo del Aire , Contaminantes Atmosféricos/análisis , Contaminantes Atmosféricos/efectos adversos , Contaminantes Atmosféricos/toxicidad , Contaminación del Aire/análisis , Contaminación del Aire/prevención & control , Contaminación del Aire/estadística & datos numéricos , Material Particulado/análisis , Material Particulado/clasificación , Material Particulado/efectos adversos , Sustancias Tóxicas , AireRESUMEN
In this study, the Enrichment Factors and elemental composition profiles of the PM2.5 were used to suggest the emission sources. The selected sites were Miravalle and Centro, and in both cases there were high values lead, Cadmium, Cobalt, Chromium, Cupper, Molybdenum, Nickel, Antimony, Selenium and Zinc for EF (>5), suggesting an anthropogenic origin. The remaining elements (Iron, Magnesium, Manganese, Strontium and Titanium) had Enrichment Factors <5, attributable to a geological origin, probably due to the suspension of particles from motor vehicles or wind. Comparing the elemental composition profiles of the two sites allowed establishing similarities with some reference profiles (SPECIATE database Version 4.2-EPA) from sources such as Paved Road Dust (PRD) and Industrial Soil (IS) and profiles of combustion sources such as Diesel Exhaust (DE). Through the estimation the Enrichment Factors and of the elemental composition profiles of two different sites in the city, it was possible to suggest not only the general type of emission source (geological or anthropogenic), but also more specific sources based on elemental composition of PM2.5.