RATIONALE: The strength of the association between outdoor air pollution and hospital admissions in children has not yet been well defined. OBJECTIVES: To estimate the impact of outdoor air pollution on respiratory morbidity in children after controlling for the confounding effects of weather, season, and other pollutants. METHODS: The study used data on respiratory hospital admissions in children (three age groups: < 1, 1-4, and 5-14 years) for five cities in Australia and two in New Zealand. Time series of daily numbers of hospital admissions were analyzed using the case-crossover method; the results from cities were combined using a random-effects meta-analysis. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Significant increases across the cities were observed for hospital admissions in children for pneumonia and acute bronchitis (0, 1-4 years), respiratory disease (0, 1-4, 5-14 years), and asthma (5-14 years). These increases were found for particulate matter with a diameter less than 2.5 microm (PM2.5) and less than 10 microm (PM10), nephelometry, NO2, and SO2. The largest association found was a 6.0% increase in asthma admissions (5-14 years) in relation to a 5.1-ppb increase in 24-hour NO2. CONCLUSIONS: This study found strong and consistent associations between outdoor air pollution and short-term increases in childhood hospital admissions. A number of different pollutants showed significant associations, and these were distinct from any temperature (warm or cool) effects.
RATIONALE: The strength of the association between outdoor air pollution and hospital admissions in children has not yet been well defined. OBJECTIVES: To estimate the impact of outdoor air pollution on respiratory morbidity in children after controlling for the confounding effects of weather, season, and other pollutants. METHODS: The study used data on respiratory hospital admissions in children (three age groups: < 1, 1-4, and 5-14 years) for five cities in Australia and two in New Zealand. Time series of daily numbers of hospital admissions were analyzed using the case-crossover method; the results from cities were combined using a random-effects meta-analysis. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Significant increases across the cities were observed for hospital admissions in children for pneumonia and acute bronchitis (0, 1-4 years), respiratory disease (0, 1-4, 5-14 years), and asthma (5-14 years). These increases were found for particulate matter with a diameter less than 2.5 microm (PM2.5) and less than 10 microm (PM10), nephelometry, NO2, and SO2. The largest association found was a 6.0% increase in asthma admissions (5-14 years) in relation to a 5.1-ppb increase in 24-hour NO2. CONCLUSIONS: This study found strong and consistent associations between outdoor air pollution and short-term increases in childhood hospital admissions. A number of different pollutants showed significant associations, and these were distinct from any temperature (warm or cool) effects.
Authors: Matthew J Strickland; Lyndsey A Darrow; Mitchel Klein; W Dana Flanders; Jeremy A Sarnat; Lance A Waller; Stefanie E Sarnat; James A Mulholland; Paige E Tolbert Journal: Am J Respir Crit Care Med Date: 2010-04-08 Impact factor: 21.405
Authors: Susann Henschel; Richard Atkinson; Ariana Zeka; Alain Le Tertre; Antonis Analitis; Klea Katsouyanni; Olivier Chanel; Mathilde Pascal; Bertil Forsberg; Sylvia Medina; Patrick G Goodman Journal: Int J Public Health Date: 2012-05-17 Impact factor: 3.380
Authors: D P Singh; Ranu Gadi; T K Mandal; C K Dixit; Khem Singh; T Saud; Nahar Singh; Prabhat K Gupta Journal: Environ Monit Assess Date: 2009-09-16 Impact factor: 2.513
Authors: John R Balmes; Miriam Cisternas; Patricia J Quinlan; Laura Trupin; Fred W Lurmann; Patricia P Katz; Paul D Blanc Journal: Environ Res Date: 2014-01-11 Impact factor: 6.498