PM2.5 exposure increases the risks for all-cause mortality and CVD mortality in the elderly population in urban and rural areas in Beijing; regular physical activity might partially offset these effects, but the protective effect is limited under extremely high pollution levels.
Study participants in Beijing were exposed to annual average PM2.5 levels far above the national limit.
Higher PM2.5 exposure was associated with higher all-cause mortality in elderly Beijing residents.
Higher PM2.5 exposure was associated with higher cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality.
Outdoor physical activity significantly modified the association between PM2.5 and all-cause mortality.
Among participants who did outdoor physical activity, those in the highest PM2.5 tertile still had substantially higher all-cause and CVD mortality than the reference group.
The authors conclude that regular physical activity may partially offset PM2.5 harm and recommend indoor activity on high-PM2.5 days.
This study followed 3,472 older adults living in urban and rural parts of Beijing to see whether breathing polluted air was linked to dying earlier. Between 2010 and 2014, the average yearly PM2.5 level (tiny airborne particles) where participants lived was about 80 μg/m³, more than twice China's national limit of 35 μg/m³. Higher exposure was linked to a higher chance of death from any cause and from cardiovascular disease. Each 1 μg/m³ increase in PM2.5 was associated with about a 5.3% higher risk of death from any cause and a 4.6% higher risk of cardiovascular death. The study also looked at whether being active outdoors changed this picture. Among people who did not exercise outdoors, each 1 μg/m³ increase in PM2.5 was linked to an 8.7% higher risk of death from any cause. Among those who did, the increase was 2.6%. This suggests that regular physical activity may partly offset the harm from air pollution. However, among active people living in the most polluted tertile, the risks of death were still substantially higher (52% higher for all-cause death and 79% higher for cardiovascular death) than in the reference group, so the benefit seems limited when pollution is very high. This research suggests that cleaner air matters for the health and survival of older adults, and that staying active may help but cannot fully cancel out heavy pollution. The authors propose that older people keep up regular physical activity but consider exercising indoors when outdoor PM2.5 is high. As an observational study, it shows associations rather than proving cause and effect.
Wan Y, Du S, Chen S, Shi Y, Nie X, Wang W, et al.. (2026). [Association between fine particulate matter exposure and all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in urban and rural elderly population in Beijing].. Zhonghua liu xing bing xue za zhi = Zhonghua liuxingbingxue zazhi. https://doi.org/10.3760/cma.j.cn112338-20251204-00870