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Figure 1 | Environmental Health

Figure 1

From: Analysis of air pollution mortality in terms of life expectancy changes: relation between time series, intervention, and cohort studies

Figure 1

Sketch of reserve capacity of the body. This diagram shows, in a qualitative manner, the reserve capacity of the body as function of age and the effect of air pollution. There are natural fluctuations, for example due to illness, as suggested by the width of the lines. Air pollution lowers the curve. The effect of pollution on mortality (shown exaggerated for the sake of illustration) becomes observable in an epidemiological study only to the extent that there are individuals whose reserve capacity is so low that the extra stress pushes them below the threshold for survival.

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Environmental Health

ISSN: 1476-069X