scholarly journals Evaluation of the Impact of Black Carbon on the Worsening of Allergic Respiratory Diseases in the Region of Western Serbia: A Time-Stratified Case-Crossover Study

Medicina ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 55 (6) ◽  
pp. 261
Author(s):  
Vesna Tomić-Spirić ◽  
Gordana Kovačević ◽  
Jelena Marinković ◽  
Janko Janković ◽  
Anđa Ćirković ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Allergic Rhinitis ◽  
Allergic Asthma ◽  
Black Carbon ◽  
Conditional Logistic Regression ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Epidemiological Studies ◽  
Case Crossover ◽  
Ed Visits ◽  
The Impact

Background and Objectives: Many epidemiological studies have shown a positive association between black carbon (BC) and the exacerbation of allergic rhinitis and allergic asthma. However, none of the studies in Serbia examined this relationship yet. The aim of this study was to examine the associations between BC and emergency department (ED) visits for allergic rhinitis and allergic asthma in the Užice region of Serbia. Materials and Methods: A time-stratified case-crossover design was applied to 523 ED visits for allergic rhinitis and asthma exacerbation that occurred in the Užice region of Serbia between 2012–2014. Data regarding ED visits were routinely collected in the Health Center of Užice. The daily average concentrations of BC were measured by automatic ambient air quality monitoring stations. Odds ratios (ORs) and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using conditional logistic regression adjusted for the potential confounding influence of weather variables (temperature, humidity, and air pressure). Results: Statistically significant associations were observed between ED visits for allergic rhinitis and 2-day lagged exposure to BC (OR = 3.20; CI = 1.00–10.18; p = 0.049) and allergic asthma and 3-day lagged exposure to BC (OR = 3.23; CI = 1.05–9.95; p = 0.041). Conclusion: Exposure to BC in the Užice region increases the risk of ED visits for allergic rhinitis and asthma, particularly during the heating season.

scholarly journals Evaluation of the Impact of Black Carbon on the Worsening of Allergic Respiratory Diseases in the Region of Western Serbia: A Time-Stratified Case-Crossover Study

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vesna Tomić Spirić ◽  
Gordana Kovačević ◽  
Jelena Marinković ◽  
Janko Janković ◽  
Anđa Ćirković ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Allergic Rhinitis ◽  
Allergic Asthma ◽  
Black Carbon ◽  
Conditional Logistic Regression ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Epidemiological Studies ◽  
Case Crossover ◽  
Ed Visits ◽  
The Impact

Background and Objectives: Many epidemiological studies have shown a positive association between black carbon (BC) and the exacerbation of allergic rhinitis and allergic asthma. However, none of the studies in Serbia examined this relationship so far. The aim of this study was to examine the associations between BC and emergency department (ED) visits for allergic rhinitis and allergic asthma in the Užice region of Serbia. Materials and Methods: A time-stratified case-crossover design was applied to 523 ED visits for allergic rhinitis and asthma exacerbation that occurred in the Užice region of Serbia between 2012−2014. Data regarding ED visits were routinely collected in the Health Center of Užice. The daily average concentrations of BC were measured by automatic ambient air quality monitoring stations. Odds ratios and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals were estimated using conditional logistic regression adjusted for the potential confounding influence of weather variables (temperature, humidity, and air pressure). Results: Statistically significant associations were observed between ED visits for allergic rhinitis and 2-day lagged exposure to BC (OR = 3.20; CI = 1.00−10.18; p < 0.05) and allergic asthma and 3-day lagged exposure to BC (OR = 3.23; CI = 1.05−9.95; p < 0.05). Conclusion: Exposure to BC in the Užice region increases the risk of ED visits for allergic rhinitis and asthma, particularly during the heating season.

scholarly journals Evaluation of the impact of black carbon on the worsening of allergic rhinitis and asthma in the region of Uzice Serbia

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (83) ◽  
pp. 7-26
Author(s):  
Vesna Tomić-Spirić ◽  
Gordana Kovačević ◽  
Jelena Marinković ◽  
Janko Janković ◽  
Anđa Ćirković ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Allergic Rhinitis ◽  
Allergic Asthma ◽  
Black Carbon ◽  
Emergency Service ◽  
Emergency Services ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Epidemiological Studies ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First Time

Many epidemiological studies have shown a positive association between black carbon (BC) concentrations and exacerbation of allergic rhinitis and asthma. The aim of this study was to examine, for the first time in Serbia, the connection between visits to emergency services due to worsening of allergic rhinitis and allergic asthma and the concentration of BC in the air. Materials and methods: A time-stratified case crossover design was applied for emergency room visits due to allergic rhinitis and worsening asthma that occurred in the Užice region between 2012-2014. Data on visits were routinely collected at the Uzice Health Center. Results: A statistically significant association was observed between the worsening of allergic rhinitis and BC concentration two days before the visit to the emergency department (UO = 359, UO = 3.20 and UO = 3.24, depending on whether the analysis is not adjusted or adjusted for appropriate weather conditions). There was also a statistically significant association between worsening of allergic asthma and BC concentration two days before the emergency service visit (UO = 3.15, GP = 0.98-10.14) and three days before the emergency service visit (UO = 2.98; UO = 3.23 ; UO = 2.98). Conclusion: Exposure to soot, especially during the heating season, increases the risk of emergency services due to worsening of allergic rhinitis and asthma.

scholarly journals Remarks on Ambient Air Pollution and Health Outcomes

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mieczysław Szyszkowicz
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Conditional Logistic Regression ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Air Pollutant ◽  
Ambient Air Pollution ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Ed Visits ◽  
The Impact

Background. Ambient air pollution is a recognized risk factor for multiple health conditions. For some health problems, the impact of air pollution is particularly evident to the patients in a specific age range. Nonsimultaneous exposures to two or more air pollutants may have different relationships with health outcomes than do simultaneous exposures. Methods. Case-crossover technique was used to analyze data on emergency department (ED) visits for ischemic heart disease (IHD), epistaxis, and upper respiratory infection (URI). Conditional logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios and their 95% confidence intervals corresponding to an increase in an interquartile range of air pollutant concentrations. Results. The results for IHD show that for older patients (age 60+ years), the association between sulphur dioxide (SO2) exposure and IHD is weak. For ED visits for epistaxis (O3 and SO2 in one model) and URI (O3 and NO2 in one model), air pollutants lagged differently in the common model indicated significant statistical associations but not for common lags. Conclusion. The study findings, based on analyzed examples, suggest that (i) IHD cases in older age are less related to air pollution and (ii) air pollutants may affect some health conditions by a specific sequence of exposure occurrences.

scholarly journals Case-Crossover Method with a Short Time-Window

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mieczysław Szyszkowicz
Keyword(s):  
Time Window ◽  
Conditional Logistic Regression ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Epidemiological Studies ◽  
Ambient Air Pollution ◽  
Case Record ◽  
Case Crossover ◽  
Short Time Window ◽  
Short Time ◽  
Pollution Exposure

Numerous epidemiological studies have shown associations between short-term ambient air pollution exposure and various health problems. The time-stratified case-crossover design is a popular technique for estimating these associations. In the standard approach, the case-crossover model is realized by using a conditional logistic regression on data that are interpreted as a set of cases (i.e., individual health events) and controls. In statistical calculations, for each case record, three or four corresponding control records are considered. Here, the case-crossover model is realized as a conditional Poisson regression on counts with stratum indicators. Such an approach enables the reduction of the number of data records that are used in the numerical calculations. In this presentation, the method used analyzes daily counts on the shortest possible time-window, which is composed of two consecutive days. The proposed technique is positively tested on four challenging simulated datasets, for which classical time-series methods fail. The methodology presented here also suggests that the length of exposure (i.e., size of the time-window) may be associated with the severity of health conditions.

scholarly journals Changes in ambient temperature increase hospital outpatient visits for allergic rhinitis in Xinxiang, China

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianhui Gao ◽  
Mengxue Lu ◽  
Yinzhen Sun ◽  
Jingyao Wang ◽  
Zhen An ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Allergic Rhinitis ◽  
Ambient Temperature ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Ambient Air Pollution ◽  
Hospital Outpatient ◽  
Distributed Lag ◽  
Outpatient Visits ◽  
Daily Data ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Background The effect of ambient temperature on allergic rhinitis (AR) remains unclear. Accordingly, this study aimed to explore the relationship between ambient temperature and the risk of AR outpatients in Xinxiang, China. Method Daily data of outpatients for AR, meteorological conditions, and ambient air pollution in Xinxiang, China were collected from 2015 to 2018. The lag-exposure-response relationship between daily mean temperature and the number of hospital outpatient visits for AR was analyzed by distributed lag non-linear model (DLNM). Humidity, long-time trends, day of the week, public holidays, and air pollutants including sulfur dioxide (SO2), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) were controlled as covariates simultaneously. Results A total of 14,965 AR outpatient records were collected. The relationship between ambient temperature and AR outpatients was generally M-shaped. There was a higher risk of AR outpatient when the temperature was 1.6–9.3 °C, at a lag of 0–7 days. Additionally, the positive association became significant when the temperature rose to 23.5–28.5 °C, at lag 0–3 days. The effects were strongest at the 25th (7 °C) percentile, at lag of 0–7 days (RR: 1.32, 95% confidence intervals (CI): 1.05–1.67), and at the 75th (25 °C) percentile at a lag of 0–3 days (RR: 1.15, 95% CI: 1.02–1.29), respectively. Furthermore, men were more sensitive to temperature changes than women, and the younger groups appeared to be more influenced. Conclusions Both mild cold and mild hot temperatures may significantly increase the risk of AR outpatients in Xinxiang, China. These findings could have important public health implications for the occurrence and prevention of AR.

scholarly journals The Value of Local Heatwave Impact Assessment: A Case-Crossover Analysis of Hospital Emergency Department Presentations in Tasmania, Australia

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (19) ◽  
pp. 3715 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon L. Campbell ◽  
Tomas A. Remenyi ◽  
Grant J. Williamson ◽  
Christopher J. White ◽  
Fay H. Johnston
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Capacity Planning ◽  
Conditional Logistic Regression ◽  
Hospital Emergency Department ◽  
Hospital Emergency ◽  
Case Crossover ◽  
Crossover Analysis ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Local Research

Heatwaves have been identified as a threat to human health, with this impact projected to rise in a warming climate. Gaps in local knowledge can potentially undermine appropriate policy and preparedness actions. Using a case-crossover methodology, we examined the impact of heatwave events on hospital emergency department (ED) presentations in the two most populous regions of Tasmania, Australia, from 2008–2016. Using conditional logistic regression, we analyzed the relationship between ED presentations and severe/extreme heatwaves for the whole population, specific demographics including age, gender and socio-economic advantage, and diagnostic conditions that are known to be impacted in high temperatures. ED presentations increased by 5% (OR 1.05, 95% CI 1.01–1.09) across the whole population, by 13% (OR 1.13, 95% CI 1.03–1.24) for children 15 years and under, and by 19% (OR 1.19, 95% CI 1.04–1.36) for children 5 years and under. A less precise association in the same direction was found for those over 65 years. For diagnostic subgroups, non-significant increases in ED presentations were observed for asthma, diabetes, hypertension, and atrial fibrillation. These findings may assist ED surge capacity planning and public health preparedness and response activities for heatwave events in Tasmania, highlighting the importance of using local research to inform local practice.

scholarly journals The impact of ambient air pollution on suicide mortality: a case-crossover study in Guangzhou, China

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Guo-Zhen Lin ◽  
Li Li ◽  
Yun-Feng Song ◽  
Ying-Xue Zhou ◽  
Shuang-Quan Shen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Crossover Study ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Ambient Air Pollution ◽  
Suicide Mortality ◽  
Case Crossover ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals Intercomparison and characterization of 23 Aethalometers under laboratory and ambient air conditions: procedures and unit-to-unit variabilities

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 3195-3216
Author(s):  
Andrea Cuesta-Mosquera ◽  
Griša Močnik ◽  
Luka Drinovec ◽  
Thomas Müller ◽  
Sascha Pfeifer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Carbon ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Individual Performance ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Monitoring Networks ◽  
Average Deviation ◽  
Aerosol Sources ◽  
Maintenance Activities ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Mass Concentrations

Abstract. Aerosolized black carbon is monitored worldwide to quantify its impact on air quality and climate. Given its importance, measurements of black carbon mass concentrations must be conducted with instruments operating in quality-checked and ensured conditions to generate data which are reliable and comparable temporally and geographically. In this study, we report the results from the largest characterization and intercomparison of filter-based absorption photometers, the Aethalometer model AE33, belonging to several European monitoring networks. Under controlled laboratory conditions, a total of 23 instruments measured mass concentrations of black carbon from three well-characterized aerosol sources: synthetic soot, nigrosin particles, and ambient air from the urban background of Leipzig, Germany. The objective was to investigate the individual performance of the instruments and their comparability; we analyzed the response of the instruments to the different aerosol sources and the impact caused by the use of obsolete filter materials and the application of maintenance activities. Differences in the instrument-to-instrument variabilities from equivalent black carbon (eBC) concentrations reported at 880 nm were determined before maintenance activities (for soot measurements, average deviation from total least square regression was −2.0 % and the range −16 % to 7 %; for nigrosin measurements, average deviation was 0.4 % and the range −15 % to 17 %), and after they were carried out (for soot measurements, average deviation was −1.0 % and the range −14 % to 8 %; for nigrosin measurements, the average deviation was 0.5 % and the range −12 % to 15 %). The deviations are in most of the cases explained by the type of filter material employed by the instruments, the total particle load on the filter, and the flow calibration. The results of this intercomparison activity show that relatively small unit-to-unit variability of AE33-based particle light absorbing measurements is possible with well-maintained instruments. It is crucial to follow the guidelines for maintenance activities and the use of the proper filter tape in the AE33 to ensure high quality and comparable black carbon (BC) measurements among international observational networks.

scholarly journals Oxidative Potential Versus Biological Effects: A Review on the Relevance of Cell-Free/Abiotic Assays as Predictors of Toxicity from Airborne Particulate Matter

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (19) ◽  
pp. 4772 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johan Øvrevik
Keyword(s):  
Particulate Matter ◽  
Biological Effects ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Epidemiological Studies ◽  
In Vivo Studies ◽  
Oxidative Potential ◽  
In Cells

Background and Objectives: The oxidative potential (OP) of particulate matter (PM) in cell-free/abiotic systems have been suggested as a possible measure of their biological reactivity and a relevant exposure metric for ambient air PM in epidemiological studies. The present review examined whether the OP of particles correlate with their biological effects, to determine the relevance of these cell-free assays as predictors of particle toxicity. Methods: PubMed, Google Scholar and Web of Science databases were searched to identify relevant studies published up to May 2019. The main inclusion criteria used for the selection of studies were that they should contain (1) multiple PM types or samples, (2) assessment of oxidative potential in cell-free systems and (3) assessment of biological effects in cells, animals or humans. Results: In total, 50 independent studies were identified assessing both OP and biological effects of ambient air PM or combustion particles such as diesel exhaust and wood smoke particles: 32 in vitro or in vivo studies exploring effects in cells or animals, and 18 clinical or epidemiological studies exploring effects in humans. Of these, 29 studies assessed the association between OP and biological effects by statistical analysis: 10 studies reported that at least one OP measure was statistically significantly associated with all endpoints examined, 12 studies reported that at least one OP measure was significantly associated with at least one effect outcome, while seven studies reported no significant correlation/association between any OP measures and any biological effects. The overall assessment revealed considerable variability in reported association between individual OP assays and specific outcomes, but evidence of positive association between intracellular ROS, oxidative damage and antioxidant response in vitro, and between OP assessed by the dithiothreitol (DDT) assay and asthma/wheeze in humans. There was little support for consistent association between OP and any other outcome assessed, either due to repeated lack of statistical association, variability in reported findings or limited numbers of available studies. Conclusions: Current assays for OP in cell-free/abiotic systems appear to have limited value in predicting PM toxicity. Clarifying the underlying causes may be important for further advancement in the field.

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