Air Pollution and Hospital Admission for Epilepsy in Kerman, Iran

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to investigate the relation between air pollution and epilepsy admissions in Kerman, Iran. Methods: In this ecological study, the concentrations of ambient air pollutants and meteorological data were obtained from Kerman Environmental Protection Agency and Kerman Meteorology Organization, respectively. Additionally, epilepsy admission data were obtained from Kerman’s Shafa hospital epilepsy registry. Generalized additive models with lags up to 7 days were used to estimate rate ratios (RRs). Results: Within 2008 to 2020, 894 epilepsy admissions occurred in Kerman, 498 cases (55.7%) of whom were male. The strongest relations of epilepsy admission were observed in the over 59-year group for carbon monoxide (CO) in lag 0 (RR = 2.1455, 95% CI: 1.5823 - 2.9091), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in lag 0 (RR = 1.0409, 95% CI: 1.0282 - 1.0537), and particulate matter under 2.5 microns (PM2.5) in lag 5 (RR = 1.0157, 95% CI: 1.0062 - 1.0252). There were also significant associations for particulate matter under 10 microns (PM10) in the under 18-year group in lag 2 (RR = 1.0064, 95% CI: 1.0029 - 1.0098), ozone in lag 0 (RR = 0.9671, 95% CI: 0.9581 - 0.9761), and sulfur dioxide in lag 5 (RR = 0.9937, 95% CI: 0.9891 - 0.9983). Conclusions: Exposure to CO, NO2, PM2.5, or PM10 air pollutants might be a risk factor for epilepsy admissions in Kerman. Epilepsy patients should better stay away from exposure to polluted air. Staying at home on polluted days or residing in areas with less air pollution might be an option.