Abstract
This study was undertaken to determine whether there was an association between air pollutant levels and daily clinic visits for headache in Taipei, Taiwan. Daily clinic visits for headache and ambient air pollution data for Taipei were obtained for the period from 2006–2011. The odds ratio of clinic visits for headache was estimated using a case-crossover approach, controlling for weather variables, day of the week, seasonality, and long-term time trends. In the single pollutant models, on warm days (≥23 °C) statistically significant positive associations were found for increased rate of headache occurrence and levels of particulate matter (PM10), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), and ozone (O3). On cool days (<23 °C), all pollutants were significantly associated with increased headache visits except SO2. For the two-pollutant models, PM10, O3 and NO2 were significant for higher rate of headache visits in combination with each of the other four pollutants on cool days. On warm days, CO remained statistically significant in all two-pollutant models. This study provides evidence that higher levels of ambient air pollutants increase the risk of clinic visits for headache.
Highlights
IntroductionOver the past two decades, many epidemiologic studies have shown positive associations between ambient levels of air pollution and increased daily mortality rate [1,2] and hospital admissions or emergency room (ER) visits for cardio-respiratory diseases [3,4,5]
Over the past two decades, many epidemiologic studies have shown positive associations between ambient levels of air pollution and increased daily mortality rate [1,2] and hospital admissions or emergency room (ER) visits for cardio-respiratory diseases [3,4,5].Most epidemiologic studies conducted to date focused on severe events such as mortality, hospitalizations, and emergency department (ED) visits [6,7]
This study was undertaken to examine the association between levels of ambient air pollutants and clinic visits for headache among individuals residing in Taipei city, the largest metropolitan city in Taiwan, over a 6 year period from 2006–2011, using case-crossover design
Summary
Over the past two decades, many epidemiologic studies have shown positive associations between ambient levels of air pollution and increased daily mortality rate [1,2] and hospital admissions or emergency room (ER) visits for cardio-respiratory diseases [3,4,5]. A limited number of epidemiologic studies investigated the relationship between air pollutant levels and general practitioner visits for respiratory diseases [9,10,11,12,13]; other symptoms have rarely been investigated [8]. This study was undertaken to examine the association between levels of ambient air pollutants and clinic visits for headache among individuals residing in Taipei city, the largest metropolitan city in Taiwan, over a 6 year period from 2006–2011, using case-crossover design. Our results should be applicable to other cities with similar emission sources
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