Close Menu
    Trending
    Saturday, August 22
    Conditions

    Contributions of traffic to daily PM2.5 exposure and links to cancer mortality

    healthylife7By No Comments16 Mins Read
    Contributions of traffic to daily PM2.5 exposure and links to cancer mortality

    Abstract

    People with cancer may be susceptible to acute environmental stressors, including ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5), but the contribution of traffic-related particles to short-term cancer mortality remains uncertain. We analysed daily cancer mortality records by cancer site from 2000 to 2019 across eight countries (Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, South Korea, Mexico, New Zealand and Thailand). A time-stratified case-crossover design was used to assess associations with all-source PM2.5 and traffic-sourced PM2.5 (TSPM2.5). The analysis included 9,223,612 cancer deaths. Every 10 μg m−3 increase in the 2-day moving average of all-source PM2.5 exposure (lag 0–1) was associated with a 0.77% increase in all-cancer mortality risk (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.64–0.89%). The corresponding increase in TSPM2.5 was associated with a 3.87% increase (95% CI 3.28–4.47%). Although TSPM2.5 represented only 14.72% of total PM2.5 concentrations, it accounted for 73.55% of PM2.5-attributable cancer deaths during the study period, equivalent to 1.21% (95% CI 1.03–1.39%) of total cancer mortality. Effect modification by age, sex or socioeconomic status was not statistically significant. Reducing TSPM2.5 exposure may help lower acute pollution-related mortality risks among people with cancer.

    This is a preview of subscription content, access

    Access options

    Access through your institution

    • Purchase on SpringerLink
    • Instant access to the full article PDF.

    39,95 €

    Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

    Fig. 1: Spatial distributions of all-source and TSPM2.5.
    Fig. 2: Associations between all-source PM2.5 and cancer mortality.
    Fig. 3: Associations between TSPM2.5 and cancer mortality.
    Fig. 4: Cancer mortality burden attributable to all-source and TSPM2.5.

    Subjects

    • Environmental impact
    • Risk factors

    Data availability

    Publicly available data are found here: the global gridded GDP (https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2018.4) and the Gridded Population of the World (version 4, https://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/data/collection/gpw-v4); surface temperature and ambient dewpoint temperature from ERA5 (https://www.ecmwf.int/en/forecasts/datasets/reanalysis-datasets/era5). Data supporting the GEOS-Chem model development and TSPM2.5 simulation in this study can be found from MIX v1.1 Asian anthropogenic emissions (http://meicmodel.org.cn/?page_id=87&lang=en), Multi-resolution Emission Inventory for China (http://meicmodel.org.cn/?page_id=125&lang=en), European Monitoring and Evaluation Program (https://www.emep.int/), Diffuse and Inefficient Combustion Emissions Africa inventory (https://www2.acom.ucar.edu/modeling/dice-africa) and National Emission Inventory of America (https://www.epa.gov/air-emissions-inventories/national-emissions-inventory-nei). The authors do not have permission to directly share the health outcome data. Interested researchers should contact the corresponding author Y.G. on a case-by-case basis for further information about the restricted health outcome data and the relevant data access procedures. Source data are provided with this paper.

    Code availability

    Analysis codes are available from the corresponding authors on request and shared on https://github.com/Yukieuuuuu/Traffic_PM25_short_term_cancer_mortality

    References

    1. Liu, C. et al. Ambient particulate air pollution and daily mortality in 652 cities. N. Engl. J. Med381, 705–715 (2019)

      Article 
      CAS 
      Google Scholar 

    2. Orellano, P., Reynoso, J., Quaranta, N., Bardach, A. & Ciapponi, A. Short-term exposure to particulate matter (PM(10) and PM(2.5)), nitrogen dioxide (NO(2)), and ozone (O(3)) and all-cause and cause-specific mortality: systematic review and meta-analysis. Environ. Int.142, 105876 (2020)

      Article 
      CAS 
      Google Scholar 

    3. Yu, W. et al. Estimates of global mortality burden associated with short-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM(2.5)). Lancet Planet. Health8, e146–e155 (2024)

      Article 
      Google Scholar 

    4. Bray, F. et al. Global cancer statistics 2022: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA Cancer J. Clin.74, 229–263 (2024)

      Google Scholar 

    5. Chen, J. & Hoek, G. Long-term exposure to PM and all-cause and cause-specific mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Environ. Int.143, 105974 (2020)

      Article 
      CAS 
      Google Scholar 

    6. Loomis, D. et al. The carcinogenicity of outdoor air pollution. Lancet Oncol.14, 1262–1263 (2013)

      Article 
      CAS 
      Google Scholar 

    7. Yu, P. et al. Cohort studies of long-term exposure to outdoor particulate matter and risks of cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Innovation (Camb.)2, 100143 (2021)

      CAS 
      Google Scholar 

    8. Pinto, B. M. & Trunzo, J. J. Health behaviors during and after a cancer diagnosis. Cancer104, 2614–2623 (2005)

      Article 
      Google Scholar 

    9. Krittanawong, C. et al. PM2.5 and cardiovascular diseases: state-of-the-art review. Int. J. Cardiol. Cardiovasc. Risk Prev.19, 200217 (2023)

      Google Scholar 

    10. Prousi, G. S. et al. Vascular inflammation, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. Curr. Oncol. Rep.25, 955–963 (2023)

      Article 
      Google Scholar 

    11. Iqbal, M. J. et al. Interplay of oxidative stress, cellular communication and signaling pathways in cancer. Cell Commun. Signal.22, 7 (2024)

      Article 
      CAS 
      Google Scholar 

    12. Wang, N. et al. Short-term association between ambient air pollution and lung cancer mortality. Environ. Res.179, 108748 (2019)

      Article 
      CAS 
      Google Scholar 

    13. Xue, X., Chen, J., Sun, B., Zhou, B. & Li, X. Temporal trends in respiratory mortality and short-term effects of air pollutants in Shenyang, China. Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. Int.25, 11468–11479 (2018)

      Article 
      CAS 
      Google Scholar 

    14. Ma, C. et al. Short-term association of air pollution with lung cancer mortality in Osaka, Japan. Environ. Res.224, 115503 (2023)

      Article 
      CAS 
      Google Scholar 

    15. Yu, P. et al. Cancer mortality risk from short-term PM(2.5) exposure and temporal variations in Brazil. J. Hazard. Mater.473, 134606 (2024)

      Article 
      CAS 
      Google Scholar 

    16. Masselot, P. et al. Differential mortality risks associated with PM2.5 components: a multi-country, multi-city study. Epidemiology33, 167–175 (2022)

      Article 
      Google Scholar 

    17. HEI Panel on the Health Effects of Traffic-Related Air Pollution Traffic-Related Air Pollution: A Critical Review of the Literature on Emissions, Exposure, and Health Effects (Health Effects Institute, 2010)

    18. Morawska, L., Ristovski, Z., Jayaratne, E. R., Keogh, D. U. & Ling, X. Ambient nano and ultrafine particles from motor vehicle emissions: characteristics, ambient processing and implications on human exposure. Atmos. Environ.42, 8113–8138 (2008)

      Article 
      CAS 
      Google Scholar 

    19. Fussell, J. C. et al. A review of road traffic-derived non-exhaust particles: emissions, physicochemical characteristics, health risks, and mitigation measures. Environ. Sci. Technol.56, 6813–6835 (2022)

      Article 
      CAS 
      Google Scholar 

    20. Ostro, B. et al. The effects of particulate matterpain. Environ. Health Perspect.119, 1781–1787 (2011)

      Article 
      CAS 
      Google Scholar 

    21. Kim, S. Y. et al. The short-term association of selected components of fine particulate matter and mortality in the Denver Aerosol study. Environ. Health14, 49 (2015)

      Article 
      Google Scholar 

    22. Cheng, Z. et al. Air pollution and cancer daily mortality in Hangzhou, China: an ecological research. BMJ Open14, e084804 (2024)

      Article 
      Google Scholar 

    23. Rolston, K. V. Infections in cancer patients with solid tumors: a review. Infect. Dis. Ther.6, 69–83 (2017)

      Article 
      Google Scholar 

    24. Zhao, Y. et al. Cardiorespiratory responses to fine particles during ambient PM(2.5) pollution waves: findings from a randomized crossover trial in young healthy adults. Environ. Int.139, 105590 (2020)

      Article 
      CAS 
      Google Scholar 

    25. Lin, Y. et al. Pro-oxidative and proinflammatory effects after traveling from Los Angeles to Beijing: a biomarker-based natural experiment. Circulation140, 1995–2004 (2019)

      Article 
      CAS 
      Google Scholar 

    26. Shi, J. et al. Association between fine particulate matter chemical constituents and airway inflammation: a panel study among healthy adults in China. Environ. Res.150, 264–268 (2016)

      Article 
      CAS 
      Google Scholar 

    27. Chen, R. et al. Fine particulate air pollution and the expression of microRNAs and circulating cytokines relevant to inflammation, coagulation, and vasoconstriction. Environ. Health Perspect.126, 017007 (2018)

      Article 
      Google Scholar 

    28. Schuijs, M. J. et al. ILC2-driven innate immune checkpoint mechanism antagonizes NK cell antimetastatic function in the lung. Nat. Immunol.21, 998–1009 (2020)

      Article 
      CAS 
      Google Scholar 

    29. Stoll, J. R. et al. Association of interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α with mortality in hospitalized patients with cancer. J. Am. Acad. Dermatol.84, 273–282 (2021)

      Article 
      CAS 
      Google Scholar 

    30. Atkinson, R. W. et al. Short-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution and daily mortality in London, UK. J. Expo. Sci. Environ. Epidemiol.26, 125–132 (2016)

      Article 
      CAS 
      Google Scholar 

    31. Zhu, Y. et al. Short-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution and STEMI events: insights into STEMI onset and related cardiac impairment. Sci. Total Environ.827, 154210 (2022)

      Article 
      CAS 
      Google Scholar 

    32. Bai, L. et al. Exposure to traffic-related air pollution and acute bronchitis in children: season and age as modifiers. J. Epidemiol. Community Health72, 426–433 (2018)

      Article 
      Google Scholar 

    33. Cosselman, K. E. et al. Acute exposure to traffic-related air pollution alters antioxidant status in healthy adults. Environ. Res.191, 110027 (2020)

      Article 
      CAS 
      Google Scholar 

    34. Dummer, T. J. B. et al. Traffic-related air pollution and risk of lung, breast, and urinary tract cancer in Halifax, Nova Scotia. J. Occup. Environ. Med.65, e485–e490 (2023)

      Article 
      CAS 
      Google Scholar 

    35. Chen, G., Wan, X., Yang, G. & Zou, X. Traffic-related air pollution and lung cancer: a meta-analysis. Thorac. Cancer6, 307–318 (2015)

      Article 
      Google Scholar 

    36. IARC Working Group on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans Diesel and Gasoline Engine Exhausts and Some Nitroarenes (IARC, 2014)

    37. de Jesus, A. L. et al. Ultrafine particles and PM(2.5) in the air of cities around the world: are they representative of each other? Environ. Int.129, 118–135 (2019)

      Article 
      Google Scholar 

    38. Tsai, D. H., Wu, Y. H. & Chan, C. C. Comparisons of commuter’s exposure to particulate matters while using different transportation modes. Sci. Total Environ.405, 71–77 (2008)

      Article 
      CAS 
      Google Scholar 

    39. Electric two and three-wheelers. UN Environment Programmehttps://www.unep.org/topics/transport/electric-mobility/electric-two-and-three-wheelers (2026)

    40. Liu, Y. et al. Comparative analysis of non-exhaust airborne particles from electric and internal combustion engine vehicles. J. Hazard. Mater.420, 126626 (2021)

      Article 
      CAS 
      Google Scholar 

    41. Christou, A., Giechaskiel, B., Olofsson, U. & Grigoratos, T. Review of health effects of automotive brake and tyre wear particles. Toxics13, 301 (2025)

    42. Snider, G. et al. Variation in global chemical composition of PM2.5: emerging results from SPARTAN. Atmos. Chem. Phys.16, 9629–9653 (2016)

      Article 
      CAS 
      Google Scholar 

    43. Yu, P. et al. Spatiotemporal variations and inequalities in global traffic-

      Article 
      CAS 
      Google Scholar 

    44. Kamangar, F., Dores, G. M. & Anderson, W. F. Patterns of cancer incidence, mortality, and prevalence across five continents: defining priorities to reduce cancer disparities in different geographic regions of the world. J. Clin. Oncol.41, 5209–5224 (2023)

      Article 
      Google Scholar 

    45. Zhang, Y. et al. Global variations in lung cancer incidence by histological subtype in 2020: a population-based study. Lancet Oncol.24, 1206–1218 (2023)

      Article 
      Google Scholar 

    46. Zhang, L. et al. CanScreen5, a global repository for breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screening programs. Nat. Med.29, 1135–1145 (2023)

      Article 
      CAS 
      Google Scholar 

    47. Soerjomataram, I., Lam, F., Bardot, A., Bray, F. & Ervik, M. SURVCAN-3 online tool: international cancer survival benchmarking. IARChttps://gco.iarc.fr/survival/survcan (2023)

    48. Nascimento, F. P. & Gouveia, N. Ambient air pollution and mortality: the role of socioeconomic conditions. Environ. Epidemiol.8, e297 (2024)

      Article 
      Google Scholar 

    49. Gutiérrez-Avila, I. et al. Short-term exposure to PM2.5 and 1.5 million deaths: a time-stratified case-crossover analysis in the Mexico City metropolitan area. Environ. Health22, 70 (2023)

      Article 
      Google Scholar 

    50. Li, S. et al. An umbrella review of socioeconomic status and cancer. Nat. Commun.15, 9993 (2024)

      Article 
      CAS 
      Google Scholar 

    51. Afshar, N., English, D. R. & Milne, R. L. Factors explaining socio-economic inequalities in cancer survival: a systematic review. Cancer Control28, 10732748211011956 (2021)

      Article 
      Google Scholar 

    52. Lundqvist, A., Andersson, E., Ahlberg, I., Nilbert, M. & Gerdtham, U. Socioeconomic inequalities in breast cancer incidence and mortality in Europe—a systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur. J. Public Health26, 804–813 (2016)

      Article 
      Google Scholar 

    53. Gryparis, A., Paciorek, C. J., Zeka, A., Schwartz, J. & Coull, B. A. Measurement error caused by spatial misalignment in environmental epidemiology. Biostatistics10, 258–274 (2009)

      Article 
      Google Scholar 

    54. Hoek, G., Vienneau, D. & de Hoogh, K. Does residential address-based exposure assessment for outdoor air pollution lead to bias in epidemiological studies? Environ. Health23, 75 (2024)

      Article 
      Google Scholar 

    55. Nguyen, H. et al. Accuracy of coded cause of death data: a study based on primary liver cancer. Tasman Med. J.4, 12–20 (2022)

      Google Scholar 

    56. Morais, R. M. D. & Costa, A. L. Uma avaliação do Sistema de Informações sobre Mortalidade. Saúde em Debate41, 101–117 (2017)

      Article 
      Google Scholar 

    57. Hebbern, C. et al. Future temperature-related excess mortality under climate change and population aging scenarios in Canada. Can. J. Public Health114, 726–736 (2023)

      Article 
      Google Scholar 

    58. Microdata Integrated System (MDIS). Statistics Koreahttps://mdis.kostat.go.kr/mypage/extract/viewMyExtractDetail.do?curMenuNo=UI_POR_P1068&procPcdtId=PROC0000000000190368 (2026)

    59. Mortalidad. Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografíahttps://en.www.inegi.org.mx/programas/edr/#open_data (2026)

    60. Mortality collection data dictionary. New Zealand Ministry of Healthhttps://www.health.govt.nz/publication/mortality-collection-data-dictionary (2026)

    61. Kliengchuay, W. et al. The association of meteorological parameters and AirQ+ health risk assessment of PM2. 5 in Ratchaburi province, Thailand. Sci. Rep.12, 12971 (2022)

      Article 
      CAS 
      Google Scholar 

    62. Open Data: deaths by cause. Department of Health Statistics and Information (DEIS), Ministry of Health of Chilehttps://deis.minsal.cl/#datosabiertos (2026)

    63. Xu, R. et al. Global population exposure to landscape fire air pollution from 2000 to 2019. Nature621, 521–529 (2023)

      Article 
      CAS 
      Google Scholar 

    64. ERA5 hourly data on single levels from 1979 to present. ECMWFhttps://cds.climate.copernicus.eu/cdsapp#!/dataset/reanalysis-era5-single-levels?tab=overview (2026)

    65. Center for International Earth Science Information Network Global Gridded Relative Deprivation Index (GRDI), Version 1. SEDAChttps://doi.org/10.7927/3XXE-AP97 (2022)

    66. Yu, P. et al. Cancer mortality risk from short-term PM2.5 exposure and temporal variations in Brazil. J. Hazard. Mater.473, 134606 (2024)

      Article 
      CAS 
      Google Scholar 

    67. Xu, R. et al. The association between heat exposure and hospitalization for undernutrition in Brazil during 2000–2015: a nationwide case-crossover study. PLoS Med.16, e1002950 (2019)

      Article 
      Google Scholar 

    68. Guo, Y. Hourly associations between heat and ambulance calls. Environ. Pollut.220, 1424–1428 (2017)

      Article 
      CAS 
      Google Scholar 

    69. Biswas, R. et al. Tinnitus prevalence in Europe: a multi-country cross-sectional population study. Lancet Reg. Health Eur.12, 100250 (2022)

      Article 
      CAS 
      Google Scholar 

    Download references

    Funding

    This study was supported by the Australian Research Council (grant no. DP210102076), the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (grant no. APP2000581) and the National Research Council of Thailand E-Asia Joint Research Program: climate change impact on natural and human systems (grant no. N33A670560). S.L. was supported by an Emerging Leader Fellowship (grant no. GNT2009866) of the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council and Y.G. by Leader Fellowship (grant no. GNT2008813) of the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council. The funders had no role in data collection, analysis, interpretation, writing of the manuscript or the decision to submit.

    Author information

    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution and Health, College of Environment and Climate, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China

      Pei Yu

    2. Climate, Air Quality Research Unit, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

      Pei Yu, Wenzhong Huang, Zhengyu Yang, Michael J. Abramson, Tingting Ye, Wenhua Yu, Yanming Liu, Ke Ju, Yiwen Zhang, Yao Wu, Bo Wen, Yuming Guo & Shanshan Li

    3. Chongqing Emergency Medical Center, Chongqing University Central Hospital, School of Medicine, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China

      Rongbin Xu

    4. School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

      Rongbin Xu

    5. Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine and Engineering of Ministry of Education, and School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, China

      Wenzhong Huang

    6. Department of Urban Planning and Design, the Social Infrastructure for Equity and Wellbeing (SIEW) Lab, and the Hong Kong Base of the State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Building and Urban Science, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

      Zhengyu Yang

    7. International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

      Lidia Morawska

    8. Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

      Fay H. Johnston

    9. Sydney School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

      Luke Knibbs

    10. Public Health Research Analytics and Methods for Evidence, Public Health Unit, Sydney Local Health District, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia

      Luke Knibbs

    11. Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

      Guy B. Marks

    12. School of Population and Global Health, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia

      Jane Heyworth

    13. Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea

      Ho Kim

    14. Department of Social and Environmental Medicine, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand

      Kraichat Tantrakarnapa & Wissanupong Kliengchuay

    15. School of Medicine, University of the Andes (Chile), Las Condes, Chile

      Patricia Matus

    16. Department of Public Health, University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand

      Simon Hales

    17. School of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

      Eric Lavigne

    18. Environmental Health Science and Research Bureau, Health Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

      Eric Lavigne

    19. Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

      Paulo H. N. Saldiva & Micheline S. Z. S. Coelho

    20. School of Statistics and Data Science, Southeast University, Nanjing, China

      Yanming Liu

    Authors

    1. Pei YuView author publications

      Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

    2. Rongbin XuView author publications

      Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

    3. Wenzhong HuangView author publications

      Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

    4. Zhengyu YangView author publications

      Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

    5. Lidia MorawskaView author publications

      Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

    6. Fay H. JohnstonView author publications

      Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

    7. Michael J. AbramsonView author publications

      Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

    8. Luke KnibbsView author publications

      Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

    9. Guy B. MarksView author publications

      Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

    10. Jane HeyworthView author publications

      Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

    11. Ho KimView author publications

      Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

    12. Kraichat TantrakarnapaView author publications

      Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

    13. Wissanupong KliengchuayView author publications

      Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

    14. Patricia MatusView author publications

      Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

    15. Simon HalesView author publications

      Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

    16. Eric LavigneView author publications

      Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

    17. Paulo H. N. SaldivaView author publications

      Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

    18. Micheline S. Z. S. CoelhoView author publications

      Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

    19. Tingting YeView author publications

      Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

    20. Wenhua YuView author publications

      Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

    21. Yanming LiuView author publications

      Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

    22. Ke JuView author publications

      Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

    23. Yiwen ZhangView author publications

      Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

    24. Yao WuView author publications

      Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

    25. Bo WenView author publications

      Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

    26. Yuming GuoView author publications

      Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

    27. Shanshan LiView author publications

      Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

    Contributions

    S.L. and Y.G. designed and supervised the study and are cosenior authors. P.Y. conducted the statistical analysis and took the lead in drafting the paper and interpreting the results. P.Y. and R.X. estimated the all-source and TSPM2.5 exposure data. P.Y., R.X., W.H., Z.Y., T.Y., W.Y., Y.L., K.J., Y.Z., Y.W. and B.W. cleaned, processed or analysed the data. L.M., F.H.J., M.J.A., L.K., G.B.M., J.H., H.K., K.T., W.K., P.M., S.H., E.L., P.H.N.S. and M.S.Z.S.C. provided or supported access to the mortality data and contributed to results interpretation. All authors, including P.Y., R.X., W.H., Z.Y., L.M., F.H.J., M.J.A., L.K., G.B.M., J.H., H.K., K.T., W.K., P.M., S.H., E.L., P.H.N.S., M.S.Z.S.C., T.Y., W.Y., Y.L., K.J., Y.Z., Y.W., B.W., Y.G. and S.L., revised and edited the paper and approved the submitted version. The corresponding authors attest that all listed authors meet authorship criteria and that no others meeting the criteria have been omitted.

    Ethics declarations

    Competing interests

    M.J.A. holds investigator-initiated grants from Pfizer, Boehringer-Ingelheim, GSK and Sanofi for unrelated research. He has undertaken an unrelated consultancy for Sanofi. The other authors declare no competing interests

    Peer review

    Peer review information

    Nature Sustainability thanks Claudia Dalmastri, M. Omar Nawaz, Brian Oliver, Debatosh B. Partha and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work

    Additional information

    Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations

    Supplementary information

    Supplementary Information (download PDF )

    Supplementary Figs. 1–10 and Tables 1–19

    Reporting Summary (download PDF )

    Source data

    Source Data Fig. 1 (download CSV )

    Statistical

    Source Data Fig. 2 (download CSV )

    Statistical

    Source Data Fig. 3 (download CSV )

    Statistical

    Source Data Fig. 4 (download CSV )

    Statistical

    Rights and permissions

    Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law

    Reprints and permissions

    About this article

    Cite this article

    Yu, P., Xu, R., Huang, W. et al. Contributions of traffic to daily PM2.5 exposure and links to cancer mortality.
    Nat Sustain (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-026-01925-5

    • Received:22 January 2025

    • Accepted:31 July 2026

    • Published:21 August 2026

    • Version of record:21 August 2026

    • DOI
      :https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-026-01925-5

    Related Posts

    Leave A Reply