Particulate Matter (PM_2.5, PM_10-2.5, and PM₁₀) and Children's Hospital Admissions for Asthma and Respiratory Diseases: A Bidirectional Case-Crossover Study

Abstract

Epidemiological studies reported adverse effects of air pollution on the prevalence of respiratory diseases in children. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between air pollution and admissions for asthma and other respiratory diseases among children who were younger than 15 yr of age. The study used data on respiratory hospital admissions and air pollutant concentrations, including thoracic particulate matter (PM₁₀), fine (PM_2.5), and coarse (PM_10-2.5) particulate matter in Zonguldak, Turkey. A bidirectional case-crossover design was used to calculate odds ratios for the admissions adjusted for daily meteorological parameters. Significant increases were observed for hospital admissions in children for asthma, allergic rhinitis (AR), and upper (UPRD) and lower (LWRD) respiratory diseases. All fraction of PM in children showed significant positive associations with asthma admissions. The highest association noted was 18% rise in asthma admissions correlated with a 10-μg/m³ increase in PM_10-2.5 on the same day of admissions. The adjusted odds ratios for exposure to PM_2.5 with an increment of 10 μg/m³ were 1.15 and 1.21 for asthma and allergic rhinitis with asthma, respectively. PM₁₀ exerted significant effects on hospital admissions for all outcomes, including asthma, AR, UPRD, and LWRD. Our study suggested a greater effect of fine and coarse PM on asthma hospital admissions compared with PM₁₀ in children.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We would like to expresses our sincere gratitude to TÜBITAK for their financial support of this current work (project # 104Y022). We also thank to reviewers for their valuable contributions to our paper throughhout the reviewing process of this paper.

Notes

Tomaç, N., Acun, C., Demirel, F., Ermiş, B., and Ayoğlu, F. N. 2002. Zonguldak ilinde astim ve diğer allerjik hastaliklarin prevalansi ve bazi risk faktörlerinin araştirilmasi. X. Ulusal Allerji ve Klinik İmmünoloji Kongresi, 24–27 Eylül 2002, Adana, Türkiye.