Lung cancer and pollution: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Several studies have established a direct relationship between environment exposure and the development of certain cancer pathologies. The state of the environment is directly influenced, in part, by anthropogenic activities, which highlight the typology of economic activity in the area. Starting from an initial project, namely WeGIx - WellBeing Global Index - this article aims to:

Objectives: Establish an association between deaths due to malignant tumors of the larynx, bronchi, trachea and lungs and environmental exposure, namely PM10 , PM2,5 e NOx emissions, as well as to the type of economic activity allocated to the municipality, based on the typology of the territory - Predominantly Urban, Semi-urban and Predominantly Rural.

Material and Method: Observational and transversal study; statistical data for the year 2015 from the PORDATA and APA - Portuguese Environment Agency - of the Portuguese population resident in the 308 municipalities. Data analysis performed using IBM® SPSS® Statistics vs.24.0, considering a significance level of 0.05 for all statistical inference situations.

Results: The associations made reveal a statistically significant difference of means between the three types of territory with regard to mortality. The results show that the behavior of the independent variables - related to population characteristics, pollutant emissions and typology of economic activity – in relation to mortality – varies according to the type of territory - Predominantly Urban, Semi-urban and Predominantly Rural.

Conclusions: The study of the variables under analysis allows us to conclude that there is an association between deaths due to malignant larynx, bronchial, tracheal and lung tumors and the exposure of people to the environment, namely PM10, PM2.5 and NOx emissions. Regarding the typology of economic activity, as an element conditioned by the characteristics of the territory, the impact of its variability differs from the type of territory, consequently, influencing in a different way the vulnerability to death.