Abstract
The presence of temperature inversions (TI), concentration of air pollutants (AP) and meteorological variables (MV) affect the welfare of the population, creating public health problems (acute respiratory diseases ARDs, among others). The Guadalajara Metropolitan Zone (GMZ) experiences high levels of air pollution, which associated with the presence of temperature inversions and meteorological variations is conducive to the incidence of ARDs in children. The aim of this work is to evaluate the TI, MV, AP and their influence on the ARDs in children under five years in the GMZ from 2003 to 2007. In this period, the moderate and strong TI are the most frequent presenting from November to May. The AP shows a variable behavior during the year and between years, with the highest concentration of particles less than 10 microns (PM10), followed by ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), nitrogen oxides (NOX), carbon monoxide (CO) and sulfur dioxide (SO2), the most affected areas are the southeast of the GMZ. Annual arithmetic mean is 213,510 ± 41,209 ARDs consultations. The most important diseases are acute respiratory infections (98.0%), followed by pneumonia and bronchopneumonia (1.1%), asthma and status asthmaticus (0.5%) and streptococcal pharyngitis and tonsillitis (0.4%). Months with most inquiries were from October to March, mainly in the southeast, south and center of the city, coinciding with high levels of AP. Statistical analysis shows that the TI have significant correlation with ARDs in three years, temperature (Temp) in two, relative humidity (RH) in two, wind speed (WS) in three, wind direction (WD) in two, while that air pollutants NOX and NO2 showed significant correlation with ARDs throughout the period. CO and SO2 showed significance in two years, while the PM10 and O3 in one.
Highlights
A major problem in large cities around the world is the environmental degradation, where air pollution generates significant risks and impacts on the welfare of the population
The Guadalajara Metropolitan Zone (GMZ) experiences high levels of air pollution, which associated with the presence of temperature inversions and meteorological variations is conducive to the incidence of acute respiratory diseases (ARDs) in children
Statistical analysis shows that the temperature inversions (TI) have significant correlation with ARDs in three years, temperature (Temp) in two, relative humidity (RH) in two, wind speed (WS) in three, wind direction (WD) in two, while that air pollutants nitrogen oxides (NOX) and NO2 showed significant correlation with ARDs throughout the period
Summary
A major problem in large cities around the world is the environmental degradation, where air pollution generates significant risks and impacts on the welfare of the population. Air pollution is of great importance from events such as Meuse Valley (Belgium) in 1930, Donora (Pennsylvania, USA) in 1948 and London in December 1952 [2, 3]. These events led to an increase in morbidity and mortality, showing that levels of air pollution are causally associated with an increase in premature deaths. This evidence led to the adoption of policies for air pollution control in Western Europe and the United States that have managed to reduce it. Several studies have reported that the most vulnerable groups are children and seniors, with a high incidence of morbidity and mortality [1,4,5]
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