The Causal Relationship Between Long-Term Exposure to Major PM_2.5 Constituents and the Rate of Emergency Department Visits: A Difference-in-Differences Study.

ABSTRACT: Fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) is a well-established health hazard, yet population-level causal evidence on the long-term effects of its chemical constituents and their interactions with environmental and socioeconomic factors remains scarce. This study leveraged quasi-experimental variation in PM_2.5 exposure across Guangdong province, China, during 2007-2018 to evaluate its causal impact on emergency department (ED) visits. We applied a Difference-in-Differences (DID) causal inference framework to obtain counterfactual estimates of long-term exposure effects and complemented this with generalized Weighted Quantile Sum (gWQS) regression to treat PM_2.5 as a complex mixture, quantify joint effects, and identify toxic components. The results showed that each

SUBMITTER: Zhao P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12656412 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature