Application of generalized propensity score for addressing continuous exposure in environmental health

Objective To introduce the method of generalized propensity score (GPS) with continuous exposures, explore its application in the field of environmental health, and provide an effective tool for measuring environmental health risks.

Methods The baseline investigation data from Beijing Air Pollution and Population Health Cohort Study (2017—2018) were performed to evaluate the application effect of GPS with continuous exposures in estimating the health effect of air pollution.

Results After the application of GPS with continuous exposures, there was a significant improvement in balancing of confounding factors in populations with different exposure levels. For every 10 μg/m³ increase of PM_2.5 exposure, the risk of hypertension increased from 10.3% to 11.9%.

Conclusion To a certain extent, GPS method with continuous exposures provides more accurate epidemiological evidence for studies on the association between air pollution and health.