Abstract
Although there is growing evidence linking chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) hospital admissions to the exposure to ambient air pollution, the effect can vary depending on the local geography, pollution type, and pollution level. The number of large-scale multicity studies remains limited in China. This study aims to assess the short-term effects of ambient air pollution (PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NO2) on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease hospital admissions from 2015 to 2016, with a total of 216,159 records collected from 207 hospitals in 17 cities all over the Shandong province, east China. Generalized additive models and penalized splines were applied to study the data whilst controlling for confounding meteorological factors and long-term trends. The air pollution was analyzed with 0–6 day lag effects and the percentage change of hospital admissions was assessed for a 10-μg/m3 increase in the air pollution levels. We also examined the percentage changes for different age groups and gender, respectively. The results showed that air pollution was significantly associated with adverse health outcomes and stronger effects were observed for females. The air pollution health effects were also impacted by geographical factors such that the air pollution had weaker health effects in coastal cities.
Highlights
Many studies across the world have shown that poor air quality adversely impacts people’s health [1,2,3,4,5]
3.1% of the global disease burden could be attributed to ambient particulate matter pollution, placing it among the top health risk factors globally [6,7]
We found the effects of air pollution were small in some cities with high pollution levels
Summary
Many studies across the world have shown that poor air quality adversely impacts people’s health [1,2,3,4,5]. 3.1% of the global disease burden could be attributed to ambient particulate matter pollution, placing it among the top health risk factors globally [6,7]. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is presently the fourth leading cause of death and it is predicted to become the third leading cause by 2030, making this disease one of the major health challenges in the future [13,14]. 3 million deaths in 2004, 90% of which were from developing countries [15]. Due to the fast development in industrialization and urbanization with a marked incline in oil and coal burning, poor air quality has become a severe problem in China [16,17,18].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
