Effect of dust storm events on daily emergency admissions for respiratory diseases

Abstract

Background and objective: The harmful effect of dust storm on lung health is controversial. This study aimed to assess any associations between dust storms and emergency hospital admissions due to respiratory disease in Hong Kong. Methods: Data on daily emergency admissions for respiratory diseases to major hospitals in Hong Kong, and indices of air pollutants and meteorological variables from January 1998 to December 2002 were obtained from several government departments. We identified five dust storm days during the study period. Independent t-tests were used to compare the mean daily number of admissions on dust storm and nondust storm days. Case-crossover analysis using the Poisson regression was used to examine the effects of PM10 to emergency hospital admissions due to respiratory diseases. Results: Significant increases in emergency hospital admission due to COPD were found 2 days after dust storm episode. The relative risk of PM10 for lag 2 days was 1.05 (95% CI: 1.01-1.09) per 10 mg/m

Saharan dust and the association between particulate matter and daily hospitalisations in Rome, Italy: Table 1

“…In Hong Kong, Tam et al 5 found a 2% increase in cardiovascular admissions associated with PM 2.5–10 during dust-affected versus dust-free days, whereas we found in Rome no modification of the effect of PM 2.5–10 on cardiac and cerebrovascular hospitalisations. The PM 10 –respiratory admission association observed by Tam et al 6 (RR=1.05) during dust-affected days is consistent with our findings (%IR=5.04). Despite substantial differences in the study designs, all studies on PM–morbidity association pointed towards enhanced harmful effects of particles (except the fine fraction) on dust-affected days.…”

Health Impact Assessment Associated with Exposure to PM10 and Dust Storms in Kuwait

“…An estimated effect of 3% decline in daily forced expiratory volume (FEV1) change was observed for every 10 µg/m 3 increase in ambient PM 10 level [48]. Other studies showed a strong association between dust events and asthma admissions in Japan [23], Trinidad [22], Taiwan [49], South Korea [50,51] and southern Europe [52].…”

A Systematic Review of Global Desert Dust and Associated Human Health Effects

“…Tam et al [12] have shown that the numbers of daily emergency hospital admissions due to COPD one and two days after the dust storm days were significantly higher when compared with those on control days in Hong Kong. Positive but insignificant associations between Asian dust storms and hospital admissions for COPD have been reported in Taiwan [107], and emergency visits for COPD during high dust events increased by 20% compared to pre-dust periods [108].…”

“…The need for a better understanding of the role of desert dust in human health and in making protective policy decisions has led to research into the underlying effects of dust on human mortality and morbidity in recent decades. Much of this work has comprised epidemiological studies addressing the association between dust outbreaks and mortality/morbidity [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. More recently, some review studies have given special attention to the effects of far-traveled desert dust on human health in Asia, Europe, and Africa [14][15][16][17].…”