Air pollution and mortality in the Rotorua geothermal area
Air pollution and mortality in the Rotorua geothermal area
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DOI：
10.1111/j.1467-842x.1997.tb01759.x
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发表时间：
1997-10-01
影响因子：
3.5
通讯作者：
Read, D
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Bates, MN;Garrett, N;Read, D
罗托鲁瓦地区地热排放对人类健康的影响鲜有研究。我们使用 1981-1990 年十年间的死亡率数据，将居住在罗托鲁瓦地方当局地区的居民与居住在新西兰其他地区的居民进行比较，计算出标准化死亡率 (SMR)。 SMR 根据年龄、日历年份、性别和种族进行了调整。检查的诊断类别是基于已知的硫化氢毒性靶器官系统。检查的死亡原因包括神经系统和感觉器官疾病、循环系统疾病、呼吸系统疾病和出生缺陷。其中，仅呼吸系统疾病的 SMR 显着升高，尤其是毛利女性（SMR = 1.61，95% 置信区间为 1.19 至 2.12）。一个主要的担忧是种族混淆的可能性。这是因为人口普查数据中的种族基于自我认同，而死亡证明上的种族通常基于丧葬承办人的印象。这导致毛利人死亡率统计数据严重漏报。出于本研究的目的，有迹象表明罗托鲁瓦地区的毛利人种族记录可能比新西兰其他地区更准确，因此情况变得更加复杂。我们的分析表明，一般来说，基于种族的 SMR 可能会虚高。尽管这项研究没有发现明确迹象表明罗托鲁瓦地区的死亡率过高可能与地热排放有关，但数据存在局限性，可能无法识别因果关系。
The effects on human health of geothermal emissions in the Rotorua area have been little studied. We calculated standardised mortality ratios (SMRs), comparing residents domiciled in the Rotorua territorial local authority area with those living in the rest of New Zealand, using mortality data for the decade 1981-1990. The SMRs were adjusted for age, calendar year, sex, and ethnicity. Diagnostic categories examined were based on known target-organ systems of hydrogen sulphide toxicity. Mortality causes examined were diseases of the nervous system and sense organs, diseases of the circulatory system, diseases of the respiratory system, and birth defects. Of these, notably elevated SMRs were found only for diseases of the respiratory system, particularly in Maori women (SMR = 1.61, 95 per cent confidence interval 1.19 to 2.12). A major concern was the possibility of confounding by ethnicity. This is because ethnicity in census data is based on self-identification, whereas ethnicity on death certificates is often based on funeral directors' impressions. This leads to serious underreporting of Maori mortality statistics. For the purposes of this study, this situation was further complicated by indications that ethnicity recording for Maori may be more accurate in the Rotorua area than in the rest of New Zealand. Our analysis suggested that, in general, SMRs based on ethnicity are likely to be spuriously high. Although this study found no clear indications of excess mortality in the Rotorua area likely to have been associated with geothermal emissions, there were limitations in the data that could have prevented the recognition of causal associations.