Particulate matter air pollution associated with hospital admissions for mental disorders: A time-series study in Beijing, China

Introduction. Air pollution has been identified as a serious public health problem in the world’s major metropolises. Recent studies have shown that airborne particle concentrations are associated with a wide range of effects on human health, including increased hospital admissions for respiratory disease, enhanced asthma episodes, decreased lung function, and increased mortality. Objective. To relate the levels of air pollution and hospital admissions for cardiovascular and respiratory diseases in the city of Manaus in Brazil from 2008 to 2012. Method. This is an ecological time-series study among children (under 5 years of age) and elderly (above 60 years of age). Data on the daily number of hospitalizations for cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, pollutants (PM2.5), temperature, and humidity were used. Poisson generalized additive models were used to estimate the association between variables. Increases in hospitalizations for cardiovascular and respiratory diseases were estimated for the interquartile range (IQR) daily mean level of each variable studied, with a confidence interval of 95%. Results. Respiratory diseases and children: −0.40% (95% CI: −1.11, 0.30), 0.59% (95% CI: −0.35, 1.52), and 0.47% (95% CI: −3.28, 4.21) for PM2.5, temperature, and humidity, respectively. Respiratory diseases and elderly: 0.19% (95% CI: −0.93, 1.31), −0.10% (95% CI: −1.85, 1.65), and −6.17% (95% CI: −13.08, 0.74) for PM2.5, temperature, and humidity, respectively. Cardiovascular diseases and elderly: −0.18% (95% CI: −0.86, 0.50), −0.04% (95% CI: −1.10, 1.03), and −3.37% (95% CI: −7.59, 0.85) for PM2.5, temperature, and humidity, respectively. Conclusions. The time-series study found no significant association between PM2.5, temperature, humidity, and hospitalization, unlike the evidences provided by the present academic literature. Since there is no air quality monitoring network in Manaus and the option available in the present study was to reproduce some information obtained from remote sensing, there is a need for implementation of ground monitoring stations for health and environmental studies in the region.

Download Full-text

Environmental pollution and deaths due to stroke in a city with low levels of air pollution: ecological time series study

Sao Paulo Medical Journal ◽

10.1590/1516-3180.2014.1326733 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 132 (6) ◽

pp. 353-358 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Camila Trolez Amancio ◽

Luiz Fernando Nascimento

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Time Series ◽

Particulate Matter ◽

Sulfur Dioxide ◽

Air Pollutants ◽

Percentage Increase ◽

Time Series Study ◽

Risk Of Death ◽

Low Levels ◽

Series Study

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: Little has been discussed about the increased risk of stroke after exposure to air pollutants, particularly in Brazil. The mechanisms through which air pollution can influence occurrences of vascular events such as stroke are still poorly understood. The aim of this study was to estimate the association between exposure to some air pollutants and risk of death due to stroke.DESIGN AND SETTING: Ecological time series study with data from São José dos Campos, Brazil.METHODS: Data on deaths due to stroke among individuals of all ages living in São José dos Campos and on particulate matter, sulfur dioxide and ozone were used. Statistical analysis was performed using a generalized additive model of Poisson regression with the Statistica software, in unipollutant and multipollutant models. The percentage increase in the risk of increased interquartile difference was calculated.RESULTS: There were 1,032 deaths due to stroke, ranging from 0 to 5 per day. The statistical significance of the exposure to particulate matter was ascertained in the unipollutant model and the importance of particulate matter and sulfur dioxide, in the multipollutant model. The increases in risk were 10% and 7%, for particulate matter and sulfur dioxide, respectively.CONCLUSION: It was possible to identify exposure to air pollutants as a risk factor for death due to stroke, even in a city with low levels of air pollution.

Download Full-text