Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32555635›Full record

ArticlePLoS medicine2020

The association between long-term exposure to low-level PM2.5 and mortality in the state of Queensland, Australia: A modelling study with the difference-in-differences approach.

Wenhua Yu, Yuming Guo, Liuhua Shi, Shanshan Li

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PLoS medicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 43 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
43citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

43 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Review
  4. A Geospatial Linkage Analysis of Environmental Exposures, Socioeconomic Profile and Health Outcomes Among Women of Reproductive Age in Victoria, Australia.Health promotion journal of Australia : official journal of Australian Association of Health Promotion Professionals · 2026
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Wildfire smoke PMScience advances · 2026
    Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Potential causal links of long-term PMSustainable cities and society · 2025
    Article
  12. GEVResearch (Washington, D.C.) · 2025
    Article
  13. Individual and joint exposures to PMScience China. Life sciences · 2024
    Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Review
  20. PMEnvironmental geochemistry and health · 2022
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Wenhua YuDepartment of Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Management, Binzhou Medical University, Yantai, Shandong, China.
Yuming GuoDepartment of Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Management, Binzhou Medical University, Yantai, Shandong, China.
Liuhua ShiGangarosa Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America.
Shanshan LiDepartment of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.

Funding

Pilot Project ProgramP30ES019776 · NIEHS · EMORY UNIVERSITY · PI Carmen Joseph Marsit · 2013 to 2026
$22.6M
NIEHS NIH HHS P30 ES019776
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundTo date, few studies have investigated the causal relationship between mortality and long-term exposure to a low level of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations. METHODS AND

findingsWe studied 242,320 registered deaths in Queensland between January 1, 1998, and December 31, 2013, with satellite-retrieved annual average PM2.5 concentrations to each postcode. A variant of difference-in-differences (DID) approach was used to investigate the association of long-term PM2.5 exposure with total mortality and cause-specific (cardiovascular, respiratory, and non-accidental) mortality. We observed 217,510 non-accidental deaths, 133,661 cardiovascular deaths, and 30,748 respiratory deaths in Queensland during the study period. The annual average PM2.5 concentrations ranged from 1.6 to 9.0 μg/m3, which were well below the current World Health Organization (WHO) annual standard (10 μg/m3). Long-term exposure to PM2.5 was associated with increased total mortality and cause-specific mortality. For each 1 μg/m3 increase in annual PM2.5, we found a 2.02% (95% CI 1.41%-2.63%; p < 0.01) increase in total mortality. Higher effect estimates were observed in Brisbane than those in Queensland for all types of mortality. A major limitation of our study is that the DID design is under the assumption that no predictors other than seasonal temperature exhibit different spatial-temporal variations in relation to PM2.5 exposure. However, if this assumption is violated (e.g., socioeconomic status [SES] and outdoor physical activities), the DID design is still subject to confounding.

conclusionsLong-term exposure to PM2.5 was associated with total, non-accidental, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality in Queensland, Australia, where PM2.5 levels were measured well below the WHO air quality standard.

Indexed as

MortalityAgedAge FactorsCardiovascular DiseasesCause of DeathFemaleHumansInhalation ExposureMaleMiddle AgedModels, StatisticalParticulate MatterQueenslandRespiratory Tract DiseasesRisk FactorsParticulate Matter

Identifiers

PMID32555635
PMCPMC7302440

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.