The Effect of Ultrafine Particles (PM0.1) on Neurological Disorders in New York State

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Ultrafine particles (UFPs) are a significant air pollutant, yet related health research is rare. Among these studies, respiratory and cardiovascular outcomes have been analyzed far more than other health outcomes. This study evaluated the effects of UFP exposure on overall and various neurological disorders; and we examined if these associations differed by or interacted with social-demographics and meteorological factors. METHODS: We gathered emergency department (ED) visit data from New York State (NYS) Department of Health with a primary diagnosis of several neurological disorders in NYS from 2013-2018. The concentrations of UFPs and other air pollutants (as confounders) were obtained from high resolution simulations using a validated chemical transport model with size-resolved particle microphysics. We used a case-crossover design and conditional logistic regression to estimate the excess risk of ED admission for all neurological disorders and the sub-types of dementia, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS), Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), and stroke. We also analyzed interactions between UFP and gender, race, ethnicity, age, relative humidity (RH), temperature, and season. RESULTS:An inter-quartile range (IQR) increase in UFP number concentration increased general neurological disorders on individual lags (Lag 0 & 1: 0.7%, 95% CI: 0.1-1.2%) and all cumulative lags (Excessive Risk ranged from 0.7-1.4, all p0.05). UFP exposure also increased ED visits for dementia (1.4%; 95% CI: 0.1-1.2%), Parkinson’s disease (1.7%; 95% CI: 0.2-3.2%), and ALS (5.5%, 95% CI: 0.5-10.7%). Gender and age interacted with these health effects, with females and adults being more susceptible. Finally, mild temperatures (90th percentile) made individuals more vulnerable to UFP’s effects. CONCLUSIONS:Exposure to UFPs significantly increased the risk of ED visits for general neurological disorders across all lag days, especially for dementia Parkinson’s disease, and ALS. The associations varied by demographics and weather factors. More epidemiological research is needed to examine the relationships between UFPs and neurological health outcomes. KEYWORDS: Air pollution, neurological disorders, ultrafine particles