Coarse particulate matter associated with increased risk of emergency hospital admissions for pneumonia in Hong Kong

Abstract

Background Epidemiological research on the effects of coarse particles (PM c , particulate matter between 2.5 and 10 μm in aerodynamic diameter) on respiratory morbidity is sparse and inconclusive. Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of lung caused by infections, which may be triggered and exacerbated by PM c exposure. Aim To estimate the effect of PM c on emergency hospital admissions for pneumonia after controlling for PM 2.5 and gaseous pollutants. Method PM c concentrations were estimated by subtracting PM 2.5 from PM 10 measurements in each of the 10 air monitoring stations from January 2011 to December 2012 in Hong Kong and then citywide daily average concentrations of PM c were computed from the 10 stations. Generalised additive Poisson models were used to examine the relationship between PM c and daily emergency hospital admissions for pneumonia, adjusting for PM 2.5 and gaseous pollutants (NO 2 , SO 2 and O 3 ). Subgroup analyses by gender and age were also performed to identify the most susceptible subpopulations.Results PM c and PM 2.5 were significantly associated with emergency pneumonia hospitalisations. Every 10 μg/m 3 increment of PM c in the past 4 days (lag 0 -lag 3 ) was associated with a 3.33% (95% CI 1.54% to 5.15%) increase in emergency hospitalisations for pneumonia. The effect estimates of PM c were robust to the adjustment of PM 2.5 , NO 2 or SO 2 , but attenuated on the inclusion of O 3 in the model. Women, children and older people might be more vulnerable to PM c exposure. Conclusions Short-term PM c exposure is associated with emergency hospitalisations for pneumonia in Hong Kong. Air quality regulation specifically for PM c might be considered.

Spatiotemporal analysis for the effect of ambient particulate matter on cause-specific respiratory mortality in Beijing, China

“…Similar to the findings of other studies (Qiu et al 2014;Yang et al 2012), higher risks due to the PM 10 exposure were observed for females and elderly individuals, and these individuals appear to be more vulnerable. However, the stratification differences were not statistically significant.…”

“…Therefore, the magnitude of the health effect of particulate matter differs substantially across regions and countries (Medina-Ramon et al 2006). Due to expense of the equipment and limitations related to using personal exposure monitors for long periods of time on large numbers of people, previous studies have mainly used the average concentration of air pollutants from single or limited monitoring stations as the population exposure levels (Meng et al 2013;Qiu et al 2014;Qiu et al 2012;Tsai et al 2013;Yang et al 2005). This approach may result in inaccuracies, specifically exposure misclassification, and a consequent underestimation of the health effect estimates.…”

Short-term effects of ambient fine particulate matter pollution on hospital visits for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Beijing, China

“…Exploring the potential effect modifiers is helpful to identify potentially susceptible population and to develop a more accurate targeted intervention. We found that the effects of PM 2.5 were significantly greater in the elderly people, which are consistent with previous findings [6,35,38]. These evidences suggested that elderly people, especially those presenting with COPD, should limit outdoor activity or wear a face mask outdoors to reduce personal exposure when PM 2.5 pollution is severe.…”

The impact of airborne particulate matter on pediatric hospital admissions for pneumonia among children in Jinan, China: A case-crossover study

“…In spite of this, relatively few studies of ambient air pollution and respiratory infection have focused on early childhood, especially for young children in China (Qiu et al, 2014;Le et al, 2012).…”