Abstract
Epidemiological studies indicate that exposure to ultrafine particles (UFP) in ambient air represents an important environmental public health issue. The aim of this study was to determine the association between UFP in ambient air and the daily number of consultations in the primary health care unit due to diabetes mellitus in children and elderly population of the Municipality of Ljubljana. A 5-year time-trend ecological study was carried out for the period between 1 January 2013 and 31 December 2017. The daily number of primary health care consultations due to diabetes mellitus among children and elderly population was observed as the health outcome. Daily mean UFP concentrations (different size from 10 to 100 nm) were measured and calculated. Poisson regression analysis was used to investigate the association between the observed outcome and the daily UFP, particulate matter fine fraction (PM2.5), and particulate matter coarse fraction (PM10) concentrations, adjusted to other covariates. The results show that the daily number of consultations due to diabetes mellitus were highly significantly associated with the daily concentrations of UFP (10 to 20 nm; p ≤ 0.001 and 20 to 30 nm; p ≤ 0.001) in all age groups and in the elderly population. In observed the population of children, we did not confirm the association. Findings indicate that specified environmental challenges should be addressed by comprehensive public health strategies leading to the coordinated cross-sectoral measures for the reduction of UFP in ambient air and the mitigation of adverse health effects.
Highlights
Air pollution and diabetes mellitus are critical public health issues worldwide [1]
The results show that the daily number of consultations due to diabetes mellitus were highly significantly associated with the daily concentrations of ultrafine particles (UFP) (10 to 20 nm; p ≤ 0.001 and 20 to 30 nm; p ≤ 0.001) in all age groups and in the elderly population
The results of the study showed that the daily number of consultations due to diabetes mellitus were highly significantly associated with the daily concentrations of UFP (10 to 20 nm; p ≤ 0.001 and 20 to 30 nm; p ≤ 0.001) on the day of exposure in all age groups and in the elderly population
Summary
Air pollution and diabetes mellitus are critical public health issues worldwide [1]. Air pollution is a problem that is faced by all societies at all levels of development; especially at risk is the urban population [2]. Air pollution leads to 8.8 million premature deaths each year globally [3] and is the second leading course of deaths from noncommunicable diseases, including especially ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lung cancer [4]. Evidence is emerging on possible links between air pollution and other health outcomes, such as neurodevelopmental disorders, cognitive impairment and chronic disease conditions, such as diabetes [5]. Diabetes is a metabolic disorder caused by genetic and environmental factors, which lead to insufficient insulin secretion. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 4970; doi:10.3390/ijerph17144970 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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