Abstract
BackgroundAir pollution can cause respiratory symptoms or exacerbate pre-existing respiratory diseases, especially in children. This study looked at the short-term association of air pollution concentrations with Emergency Room (ER) admissions for respiratory reasons in pediatric age (0–18 years).MethodsDaily number of ER admissions in a children’s Hospital, concentrations of urban-background PM2.5, NO2, O3 and total aeroallergens (Corylaceae, Cupressaceae, Gramineae, Urticaceae, Ambrosia, Betula) were collected in Turin, northwestern Italy, for the period 1/08/2008 to 31/12/2010 (883 days). The associations between exposures and ER admissions were estimated, at time lags between 0 and 5 days, using generalized linear Poisson regression models, adjusted for non-meteorological potential confounders.ResultsIn the study period, 21,793 ER admissions were observed, mainly (81 %) for upper respiratory tract infections. Median air pollution concentrations were 22.0, 42.5, 34.1 μg/m3 for urban-background PM2.5, NO2, and O3, respectively, and 2.9 grains/m3 for aeroallergens. We found that ER admissions increased by 1.3 % (95 % CI: 0.3-2.2 %) five days after a 10 μg/m3 increase in NO2, and by 0.7 % (95 % CI: 0.1-1.2 %) one day after a 10 grains/m3 increase in aeroallergens, while they were not associated with PM2.5 concentrations. ER admissions were negatively associated with O3 and aeroallergen concentrations at some time lags, but these association shifted to the null when meteorological confounders were adjusted for in the models.ConclusionsOverall, these findings confirm adverse short-term health effects of air pollution on the risk of ER admission in children and encourage a careful management of the urban environment to health protection.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12889-016-3376-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Air pollution can cause respiratory symptoms or exacerbate pre-existing respiratory diseases, especially in children
Irritation caused by air pollutants that would produce only a slight response in an adult can result in potentially significant obstruction in the airways of a young child [16]
The cold months showed the highest frequency of Emergency Room (ER) admissions, probably due to the more frequent outbreaks of colds
Summary
Air pollution can cause respiratory symptoms or exacerbate pre-existing respiratory diseases, especially in children. The small airway caliber allows for a higher chance of being affected by inflammation resulting from air pollution [14, 15]. Due to their respiratory rates, children breathe a proportionately greater volume of air than adults and their oxygen demand is significantly. Irritation caused by air pollutants that would produce only a slight response in an adult can result in potentially significant obstruction in the airways of a young child [16]
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