Abstract
Exposure to air pollutants is associated with hospital admissions due to cardiovascular diseases and premature deaths. To estimate years of life lost (YLL) due to premature deaths and their financial costs. Ecological time-series study carried out in São José dos Campos, Brazil, in 2016. Data on deaths among residents of this city in 2016 were assessed to estimate the financial cost of premature deaths associated with air pollution. The diagnoses studied were ischemic heart disease, congestive heart failure and cerebrovascular disease, according to YLL. The fractions attributable to deaths associated with air pollutant exposure and to each potential year of life lost were calculated using negative binomial regression with lags of 0-7 days between exposure and outcome. Nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter (PM10) and ozone concentrations were included in the model and adjusted for temperature, humidity and seasonality. Exposure to particulate matter was significant at lag 3 days. There were 2177 hospitalizations over the study period, with 201 deaths (9.2%). Premature deaths led to 2035.69 years of life lost. A 10 μg/m3 increase in PM10 concentrations was correlated with 8.0% of the hospitalizations, which corresponded to 152.67 YLL (81.67 for males and 71.00 for females). The cost generated was approximately US$ 9.1 million in 2016. In this first study conducted in a medium-sized Brazilian city, using the YLL methodology, we identified an excess expense attributable to air pollution.
Highlights
In Brazil, in 2016, about US$ 1 billion were spent on hospitalizations due to circulatory system diseases
An association was found between exposure to environmental pollutants and hospitalizations due to stroke, and it was shown that a 12% increase in the risk of hospitalization was associated with a 10 μg/m3 increase in the concentration of particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter less than 10 μ (PM10).[3]
Until now, no studies quantifying the cost of premature deaths associated with exposure to air pollutants had been conducted in a Brazilian medium-sized city, with regard to particulate matter using the years of life lost (YLL) Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALY) component
Summary
In Brazil, in 2016, about US$ 1 billion were spent on hospitalizations due to circulatory system diseases. In an extensive review on 76 studies published between 2000 and 2018, Bazyar et al.[8] showed that exposure to air pollutants increased the relative risk or chance (odds ratio, OR) of the need for emergency care in emergency rooms and of mortality due to cardiovascular diseases such as acute myocardial infarction and hypertension. In another extensive review on 41 studies, higher risk of death due to cardiovascular diseases through exposure to particulate matter was identified.[9]. There are no studies in medium-sized cities in Brazil
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Schedule a callMore From: Sao Paulo medical journal = Revista paulista de medicina
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