Author(s) :

Seungyoon Shin.

Volume/Issue :

Abstract :

This study performs a cross-sectional analysis of global urban air pollution and health-economic burden modeled by using publicly available World Air Quality Index Data that contain 16,695 records from 14,229 city-county pairs across 185 countries. EPA breakpoint interpolation was used to estimate PM2.5 concentrations from AQI values and summarize them at city and county levels. To estimate relative risk (RR), attributable fraction (AF), and normalized economic burden were estimated by applying a simplified concentration-response model (β corresponding to a 6% risk increase per 10μg/ m3) by using standardized population and value-of-statistical-life parameters. Mean inferred PM2.5 concentrations in many cities substantially exceeded the WHO guideline of 5μg/m3 and varied by more than an order of magnitude across cities. Cities with higher PM2.5 concentrations showed proportionally higher modeled RR and AF, which were associated with markedly larger normalized economic burden estimates. Without estimating causal effects or absolute costs, this study demonstrates how a transparent and reproducible quantitative framework may reveal global disparities in pollution-related health burden by using open data. The quantitative framework proposed in this study provides a foundation for future studies to incorporate temporal, demographic, and policy variables.