TIME-SERIES (1963-1991) OF MORTALITY AND AMBIENT AIR-POLLUTION IN CALIFORNIA - AN ASSESSMENT WITH ANNUAL DATA

This article discusses (a) a database developed from individual mortal ity counts from 1963 to 1991, containing monthly and annual average mo rtality rates for several endpoints for several California counties, a nd monthly and annual air pollution and climatic data, and (b) descrip tive statistical analyses conducted with annual average data. The majo r coastal urban and nonurban counties in California are included. In t he north we include Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, Santa Clara, and San Mateo, and in the south Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside , San Bernardino, and San Diego counties. The air pollutants include t otal suspended particulate matter (TSP) Pb, O-3 and total oxidants, SO 4, NO3, and CO, measured at several stations within these counties. Th e climatic data include temperature and relative humidity. The mortali ty rates, defined by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD , Revisions 8 and 9) and standardized by sex, race, and age to the 198 0 California population, are those resulting from a number of selected ''all causes,'' all cancers, lung and respiratory cancers, cardiovasc ular diseases, and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, by county o f residence. The population at risk is abstracted from the U.S. Bureau of the Census yearly age-, sex-, and race-specific county-level data and from intercensal estimates. The findings based on annual data indi cate that, generally, the counties with less air pollution are charact erized by higher mortality. These findings are counter-intuitive. Ther efore these results are currently being investigated on the basis of m onthly average data to 1992, by extending the air-pollution database t o include PM-10, nitrates, and sulfates, and by stratifying mortality by age groups.