Introduction Long-term air pollution exposure contributes to mortality but there are few studies examining effects of very long-term (>25 years) exposures.

Methods This study investigated modelled air pollution concentrations at residence for 1971, 1981, 1991 (black smoke (BS) and SO₂) and 2001 (PM₁₀) in relation to mortality up to 2009 in 367 658 members of the longitudinal survey, a 1% sample of the English Census. Outcomes were all-cause (excluding accidents), cardiovascular (CV) and respiratory mortality.

Results BS and SO₂ exposures remained associated with mortality decades after exposure—BS exposure in 1971 was significantly associated with all-cause (OR 1.02 (95% CI 1.01 to 1.04)) and respiratory (OR 1.05 (95% CI 1.01 to 1.09)) mortality in 2002–2009 (ORs expressed per 10 μg/m³). Largest effect sizes were seen for more recent exposures and for respiratory disease. PM₁₀ exposure in 2001 was associated with all outcomes in 2002–2009 with stronger associations for respiratory (OR 1.22 (95% CI 1.04 to 1.44)) than CV mortality (OR 1.12 (95% CI 1.01 to 1.25)). Adjusting PM₁₀ for past BS and SO₂ exposures in 1971, 1981 and 1991 reduced the all-cause OR to 1.16 (95% CI 1.07 to 1.26) while CV and respiratory associations lost significance, suggesting confounding by past air pollution exposure, but there was no evidence for effect modification. Limitations include limited information on confounding by smoking and exposure misclassification of historic exposures.

Conclusions This large national study suggests that air pollution exposure has long-term effects on mortality that persist decades after exposure, and that historic air pollution exposures influence current estimates of associations between air pollution and mortality.