Fine Particulate Air Pollution and Hospital Emergency Room Visits for Respiratory Disease in Urban Areas in Beijing, China, in 2013

Heavy fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution occurs frequently in China. However, epidemiological research on the association between short-term exposure to PM2.5 pollution and respiratory disease morbidity is still limited. This study aimed to explore the association between PM2.5 pollution...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2016-04, Vol.11 (4), p.e0153099-e0153099
Main Authors: Xu, Qin, Li, Xia, Wang, Shuo, Wang, Chao, Huang, Fangfang, Gao, Qi, Wu, Lijuan, Tao, Lixin, Guo, Jin, Wang, Wei, Guo, Xiuhua
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Age
Age Factors
Aged
Air monitoring
Air pollution
Air quality
Air quality assessments
Airborne particulates
Asthma
Beijing
Child
Child, Preschool
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Confidence intervals
Disease control
Earth Sciences
Ecology and Environmental Sciences
Emergency medical care
Emergency medical services
Emergency Service, Hospital
Engineering and Technology
Environmental aspects
Environmental monitoring
Environmental protection
Epidemiology
Exposure
Female
Females
Health aspects
Health risks
Humans
Infant
Infections
Lung diseases
Male
Medicine and Health Sciences
Middle Aged
Morbidity
Mortality
Nitrogen dioxide
Obstructive lung disease
Outdoor air quality
Particulate matter
Particulate Matter - adverse effects
Particulate Matter - analysis
Particulates
People and Places
Physical Sciences
Pollution
Respiratory diseases
Respiratory tract
Respiratory tract diseases
Respiratory Tract Diseases - epidemiology
Respiratory Tract Diseases - etiology
Risk factors
Sex Factors
Studies
Sulfur dioxide
Urban areas
Urban Renewal
Young Adult
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Summary:Heavy fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution occurs frequently in China. However, epidemiological research on the association between short-term exposure to PM2.5 pollution and respiratory disease morbidity is still limited. This study aimed to explore the association between PM2.5 pollution and hospital emergency room visits (ERV) for total and cause-specific respiratory diseases in urban areas in Beijing. Daily counts of respiratory ERV from Jan 1 to Dec 31, 2013, were obtained from ten general hospitals located in urban areas in Beijing. Concurrently, data on PM2.5 were collected from the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau, including 17 ambient air quality monitoring stations. A generalized-additive model was used to explore the respiratory effects of PM2.5, after controlling for confounding variables. Subgroup analyses were also conducted by age and gender. A total of 92,464 respiratory emergency visits were recorded during the study period. The mean daily PM2.5 concentration was 102.1±73.6 μg/m3. Every 10 μg/m3 increase in PM2.5 concentration at lag0 was associated with an increase in ERV, as follows: 0.23% for total respiratory disease (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.11%-0.34%), 0.19% for upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) (95%CI: 0.04%-0.35%), 0.34% for lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) (95%CI: 0.14%-0.53%) and 1.46% for acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) (95%CI: 0.13%-2.79%). The strongest association was identified between AECOPD and PM2.5 concentration at lag0-3 (3.15%, 95%CI: 1.39%-4.91%). The estimated effects were robust after adjusting for SO2, O3, CO and NO2. Females and people 60 years of age and older demonstrated a higher risk of respiratory disease after PM2.5 exposure. PM2.5 was significantly associated with respiratory ERV, particularly for URTI, LRTI and AECOPD in Beijing. The susceptibility to PM2.5 pollution varied by gender and age.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0153099