With global climate change, the health impacts of cold spells and air pollution caused by PM2.5 are increasingly aggravated, especially in high-altitude areas, which are particularly sensitive. Exploring their interactions is crucial for public health.
We collected time-series data on meteorology, air pollution, and various causes of death in Xining. This study employed a time-stratified case-crossover design and conditional logistic regression models to explore the association between cold spells, PM2.5 exposure, and various causes of death, and to assess their interaction. We quantitatively analyzed the interaction using the relative excess odds due to interaction (REOI), attributable proportion due to interaction (AP), and synergy index (S). Moreover, we conducted stratified analyses by average altitude, sex, age, and educational level to identify potential vulnerable groups.
We found significant associations between cold spells, PM2.5, and various causes of death, with noticeable effects on respiratory disease mortality and COPD mortality. We identified significant synergistic effects (REOI>0, AP > 0, S > 1) between cold spells and PM2.5 on various causes of death, which generally weakened with a stricter definition of cold spells and longer duration. It was estimated that up to 9.56% of non-accidental deaths could be attributed to concurrent exposure to cold spells and high-level PM2.5. High-altitude areas, males, the older adults, and individuals with lower educational levels were more sensitive. The interaction mainly varied among age groups, indicating significant impacts and a synergistic action that increased mortality risk.
Our study found that in high-altitude areas, exposure to cold spells and PM2.5 significantly increased the mortality risk from specific diseases among the older adults, males, and those with lower educational levels, and there was an interaction between cold spells and PM2.5. The results underscore the importance of reducing these exposures to protect public health.