Abstract
In the real world, dynamic changes in air pollutants and meteorological factors coexist simultaneously. Studies identifying the effects of individual pollutants on acute exacerbation (AE) of asthma may overlook the health effects of the overall combination. A comprehensive study examining the influence of air pollution and meteorological factors is required. Asthma AE data from emergency room visits were collected from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. Complete monitoring data for air pollutants (SO2; NO2; O3; CO; PM2.5; PM10) and meteorological factors were collected from the Environmental Protection Agency monitoring stations. A bi-directional case-crossover analysis was used to investigate the effects of air pollution and meteorological factors on asthma AE. Among age group divisions, a 1 °C temperature increase was a protective factor for asthma ER visits with OR = 0.981 (95% CI, 0.971–0.991) and 0.985 (95% CI, 0.975–0.994) for pediatric and adult patients, respectively. Children, especially younger females, are more susceptible to asthma AE due to the effects of outdoor air pollution than adults. Meteorological factors are important modulators for asthma AE in both asthmatic children and adults. When studying the effects of air pollution on asthma AE, meteorological factors should be considered.
Highlights
According to the 2010 Global Disease Burden Assessment, outdoor air pollution caused more than three percent of the annual disability and life lost
Our results showed a decrease in outdoor air pollution with rainfall and more severe air pollution during the cold season
When we combined the monthly mean values of PM2.5, mean temperature, and emergency room (ER) visits for asthma attacks, we found the number of ER visits for asthma acute exacerbation (AE) to be positively correlated with the
Summary
According to the 2010 Global Disease Burden Assessment, outdoor air pollution caused more than three percent of the annual disability and life lost. This is a pronounced increase from the previous report [1]. Urbanization is an important cause for the increase in asthma, and this may be partly attributed to increased outdoor air pollution [2,3]. Air pollution promotes the occurrence and progression of asthma through several mechanisms, including tissue damage by oxidative stress, inflammation and immune response, increased airway responsiveness, and airway remodeling [5,6].
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