Relationship between Lung Cancer Mortality and Haze in Yangtze River Delta of China from 1961 to 2005

Abstract

Abstract Since the reform and opening up in China, the occurrence frequency of hazy phenomena have yearly increased, particularly in the urban agglomeration such as the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), Beijing-Tianjin Area, and the Pearl River Delta Area. The exposure to extremely poor ambient air quality might result in harmful influence on human health, such as respiratory system and cardiovascular diseases and deterioration in lung function. Here, we selected a typical area of the Yangtze River Delta (Nanjing city for case). We statistically analyze 45-year historical surface observations data of haze in Nangjing city, Southeastern China to study the relationship between lung cancer mortality and haze. The results showed that the dramatic increasing trend of annual occurrence of hazy days between 1961 and 2005, and then the relative incidence of lung cancer increased.