Weather Conditions, Air Pollution, Emergency Calls and Population Mortality in Petrozavodsk

Abstract

The aim of the present study is to assess the associations between weather factors, atmospheric air pollution and the number of emergency medical calls (EMC) and population mortality Petrozavodsk, Northwest Russia. Methods. Linear correlations between the monthly values of external factors, the number of EMC for people with cardiovascular diseases and the total mortality werestudied. Graphs of the long-term associations betweenmortality rates and pollutant emissions from stationary sources were constructed. Results. Longterm average annual temperature of atmospheric air increased from +3.1 °C (1994-2001) to +3.8 °C (2002-2017) and the frequency of northwestern wind (FNWWD) increased by an average of 29.5 % during the same periods. This wind direction is associated with health-related problems in the city related to the spread of emissions from stationary contamination sources. A strong statistical relationship between the annual amount of emissions and mortality coefficients (total and from diseases of the circulatory system) for the period 2002-2017 was observed. A temperature (seasonal) factor is statistically significantly (from p < 0.001 to p = 0.034) associated with frequency of EMC for essential hypertension, angina pectoris (2015-2017) and chronic coronary heart disease (2016, 2017). A positive correlation between FNWWD and the number of EMC for people with acute myocardial infarction (p = 0.015) and stroke (p = 0.011) for a three-year period (2015-2017) was revealed. Conclusions. The results of the study indicate the need to take into account the influence of weather conditions and air pollution on the frequency of emergency medical calls and the patterns of mortality in urban settings.