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Air pollution data in Bangkok, Thailand, indicate that levels of particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter ? 10 ?m (PM10) are significantly higher than in most cities in North America and Western Europe, where the health effects of PM10 are well documented. However, the pollution mix, seasonality, and demographics are different from those in developed Western countries. It is important, therefore, to determine whether the large metropolitan area of Bangkok is subject to similar effects of PM10.

We investigated whether the effect of air pollution on daily mortality is enhanced by high temperatures in Wuhan, China, using data from 2001 to 2004. Wuhan has been called an

Asia is currently experiencing rapid increases in industrialization, urbanization, and vehicularization. As a result, emission trends (e.g., energy, fuel, vehicle use), population trends (e.g., degree of urbanization, urban population growth, city size), health trends (e.g., age structure, background disease rates), and other important factors (e.g., broad changes in regulatory approaches, improvements in control technology) will influence the extent to which exposure to air pollution affects the health of the Asian population over the next several decades.

Various factors can modify the health effects of outdoor air pollution. Prior findings about modifiers are inconsistent, and most of these studies were conducted in developed countries. The researchers conducted a time-series analysis to examine the modifying effect of season, sex, age, and education on the association between outdoor air pollutants [particulate matter