Abstract
BackgroundIn recent years, increasing dust storms from western neighboring countries of Iran influenced western and central parts of the country. In this case, level of concentration of atmospheric particulate matter greater than 10 μm (PM10) remained higher for several days compared to the levels before the event. Accordingly, Suspended particulate matters of dust storms in western Iran have caused PM10 pollution in Sanandaj (capital of the Iranian province of Kurdistan) and other Iranian cities. The present study aimed to evaluate possible effects of dust storms on incidence of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases among residents of Sanandaj.Materials and methodsDust storm events defined based on the Environmental Protection Administration and Meteorological Announcements, 21 March 2009 to 21 June 2010. Data related to the dust events associated with cardiovascular and respiratory diseases were obtained from the Center for Disaster and Emergency Medicine of Sanandaj, Iran. PM10 concentration and air quality data were obtained from air quality monitoring agency of Kurdistan Provincial Directorate of Environment Protection. Daily PM10 measurements were performed automatically according to β-ray absorption. Data were statistically analyzed using SPSS and Pearson's correlation coefficient. Also, linear regression model was used to investigate the relationship between variables.ResultsThe average PM10 levels during dust episodes (187 μg/m3) were significantly higher than the other days (48.7 μg/m3). In addition, correlation coefficient between PM10 level and number of cardiovascular and emergency service during dust events were equal to 0.48 (P <0.05) and 0.19 (P >0.05) respectively.ConclusionOur findings showed significant increase in emergency admissions for cardiovascular and respiratory diseases during dust storms episode in Sanandaj. Although correlation between respiratory diseases and dust storm events were statistically insignificant (0.19), numbers of cardiovascular diseases were significantly correlated with dust storm events (0.48).
Highlights
Arid or semi-arid environments, covering about 33% of the total world land area, are the major origin of dust events (World Meteorological Organization, 2013 #1)
Data on the incidence of diseases associated with dust events Patients with cardiovascular and respiratory diseases who received medical services from the CDMME in Sanandaj during dust event days were considered for the study
Data on particulate matter greater than 10 μm (PM10) concentration and air quality in Sanandaj Sanandaj City possesses two pollution measurement stations (ECOTECH Company, Australia). These stations are capable of measuring air pollutants including carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur anhydride (SO2), particulate matter
Summary
Arid or semi-arid environments, covering about 33% of the total world land area, are the major origin of dust events (World Meteorological Organization, 2013 #1). Increasing dust storms originating from western neighboring countries of Iran in recent years have influenced western and even. Suspended particulate matters of dust storms in the west of Iran cause PM10 pollution in Sanandaj and other cities (Figure 1) [3]. In recent years, increasing dust storms from western neighboring countries of Iran influenced western and central parts of the country. In this case, level of concentration of atmospheric particulate matter greater than 10 μm (PM10) remained higher for several days compared to the levels before the event. Suspended particulate matters of dust storms in western Iran have caused PM10 pollution in Sanandaj (capital of the Iranian province of Kurdistan) and other Iranian cities.
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