Do socioeconomic factors modify the effects of PM1 and SO2 on lung cancer incidence in China?

Highlights: • One of the earliest studies investigating socioeconomic modifying roles on the effect of PM1 in China • Male residents in urban areas have a high risk of lung cancer incidence associated with ambient PM1. • Male residents with low education levels suffer from larger effects of PM1 and SO2 on the incidence rate of lung cancer. • There is no modification effect of the proportion of construction workers. It remains uncertain whether socioeconomic factors modify the effect of air pollution on human health. Moreover, studies investigating socioeconomic modifying roles on the effect of PM1 are quite limited, especially in developing countries.