A multifactorial evaluation of the effects of air pollution and meteorological factors on asthma exacerbation

Hong Ren Yu, Chun Hung Richard Lin*, Jui Hsiu Tsai, Yun Ting Hsieh, Ti An Tsai, Chang Ku Tsai, Yi Chen Lee, Ta Yu Liu, Chih Min Tsai, Chih Cheng Chen, Chih Hao Chang, Te Yao Hsu, Chen Kuang Niu

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal Article peer-review

17 Scopus citations

Abstract

In the real world, dynamic changes in air pollutants and meteorological factors coexist simultaneously. Studies identifying the effects of individual pollutants on acute exacerbation (AE) of asthma may overlook the health effects of the overall combination. A comprehensive study examining the influence of air pollution and meteorological factors is required. Asthma AE data from emergency room visits were collected from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. Complete monitoring data for air pollutants (SO2; NO2; O3; CO; PM2.5; PM10) and meteorological factors were collected from the Environmental Protection Agency monitoring stations. A bi-directional case-crossover analysis was used to investigate the effects of air pollution and meteorological factors on asthma AE. Among age group divisions, a 1 °C temperature increase was a protective factor for asthma ER visits with OR = 0.981 (95% CI, 0.971–0.991) and 0.985 (95% CI, 0.975–0.994) for pediatric and adult patients, respectively. Children, especially younger females, are more susceptible to asthma AE due to the effects of outdoor air pollution than adults. Meteorological factors are important modulators for asthma AE in both asthmatic children and adults. When studying the effects of air pollution on asthma AE, meteorological factors should be considered.

Original languageEnglish
Article number4010
JournalInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Volume17
Issue number11
DOIs
StatePublished - 01 06 2020

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Keywords

  • Air pollution
  • Asthma
  • Emergency room
  • Exacerbation
  • Meteorological factors

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