Abstract
BackgroundRelationships between chronic exposures to air pollution and respiratory health outcomes have yet to be clearly articulated for adults. Recent data from nationally representative surveys suggest increasing disparity by race/ethnicity regarding asthma-related morbidity and mortality. The objectives of this study are to evaluate the relationship between annual average ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations and respiratory outcomes for adults using modeled air pollution and health outcome data and to examine PM2.5 sensitivity across race/ethnicity.MethodsRespondents from the 2002-2005 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) were linked to annual kriged PM2.5 data from the USEPA AirData system. Logistic regression was employed to investigate increases in ambient PM2.5 concentrations and self-reported prevalence of respiratory outcomes including asthma, sinusitis and chronic bronchitis. Models included health, behavioral, demographic and resource-related covariates. Stratified analyses were conducted by race/ethnicity.ResultsOf nearly 110,000 adult respondents, approximately 8,000 and 4,000 reported current asthma and recent attacks, respectively. Overall, odds ratios (OR) for current asthma (0.97 (95% Confidence Interval: 0.87-1.07)) and recent attacks (0.90 (0.78-1.03)) did not suggest an association with a 10 μg/m3 increase in PM2.5. Stratified analyses revealed significant associations for non-Hispanic blacks [OR = 1.73 (1.17-2.56) for current asthma and OR = 1.76 (1.07-2.91) for recent attacks] but not for Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites. Significant associations were observed overall (1.18 (1.08-1.30)) and in non-Hispanic whites (1.31 (1.18-1.46)) for sinusitis, but not for chronic bronchitis.ConclusionsNon-Hispanic blacks may be at increased sensitivity of asthma outcomes from PM2.5 exposure. Increased chronic PM2.5 exposures in adults may contribute to population sinusitis burdens.
Highlights
Relationships between chronic exposures to air pollution and respiratory health outcomes have yet to be clearly articulated for adults
National prevalence data for several respiratory conditions are available from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), who have estimated that as of 2007, approximately 7, 11 and 3% of non-institutionalized adults reported current asthma, recent sinusitis and chronic bronchitis, respectively [18]
The objective of this study is to evaluate the relationship between chronic exposure to fine particulate matter on the prevalence of adverse respiratory outcomes for adults using modeled air pollution data from the EPA AirData system and health outcome data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) geocoded to respondent locations
Summary
Relationships between chronic exposures to air pollution and respiratory health outcomes have yet to be clearly articulated for adults. Recent data from nationally representative surveys suggest increasing disparity by race/ethnicity regarding asthma-related morbidity and mortality. The objectives of this study are to evaluate the relationship between annual average ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations and respiratory outcomes for adults using modeled air pollution and health outcome data and to examine PM2.5 sensitivity across race/ethnicity. Results from nationally-representative surveys suggest relatively smaller differences in asthma burden by race/ethnicity among adults as compared to children [19], though recent evidence from the National Hospital Discharge Survey and National Vital Statistics System has indicated that disparities in asthma-related hospitalization and mortality may be increasing over time [24,25]. Estimates further stratified by sex indicated recent sinusitis and chronic bronchitis diagnoses were most common among nonHispanic black and white women
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
