Ambient air quality and risk of circulatory diseases for population of a large city in the European North of Russia

Cardiovascular diseases are the most frequent causes of premature mortality associated with ambient air quality. In the Arkhangelsk region, population mortality caused by diseases of the circulatory system is higher than the national average. The aim of this study was to assess ambient air quality in Arkhangelsk and associated health harm in adult population. The study relied on using data of ambient air monitoring in Arkhangelsk collected over 2011-2022. We analyzed average annual levels of 23 pollutants and primary incidence of diseases of the circulatory system (CVD) and calculated hazard quotients under chronic inhalation exposure (HQ), hazard index (HI) for the cardiovascular system, and the number of attributable deaths associated with exposure to PM10 and PM2.5. Over the analyzed period, the average long-term concentrations of most pollutants met hygienic standards. Average levels of formaldehyde, chromium, copper and benzene were found to exceed the MPL by 1.5-2.3 times. Hazard coefficients for formaldehyde (HQ = 2.3), copper (HQ = 1.8) and PM2.5 (HQ = 1.7) were established to be above their permissible value. The risk of developing general toxic effects is determined to be high (HI = 6.6) for the cardiovascular system. The main contribution to the risk level is made by copper and PM2.5. Attributable outcomes of primary cardiovascular incidence among the adult population of Arkhangelsk associated with exposure to PM10 and PM2.5 equaled 10.7 and 2.9 ‰ cases per year. The greatest harm under exposure to PM2.5 is due to the development of coronary artery disease and amounts to 1.9 ‰ cases per year.