Air pollution positively correlates with daily stroke admission and in hospital mortality: a study in the urban area of Como, Italy.

Some current evidences suggest that stroke incidence and mortality may be higher in elevated air pollution areas. Our study examined the hypothesis of a correlation between air pollution level and ischemic stroke admission and in Hospital mortality in an urban population. Data on a total of 759 stroke admissions and 180 deaths have been obtained over a 4-year period (2000-2003). Five air ambient particles have been studied. A general additive model estimating Poisson distribution has been used, adding meteorological variables as covariates. NO(2) and PM(10) were significantly associated with admission and mortality (P value < 0.05) and with estimated RR of 1.039 (95% CI 1.066-1.013) and 1.078 (95% CI 1.104-1.052) for hospital admission at 2- and 4-day lags, respectively. In conclusion, this study suggests an association between short-term outdoor air pollution exposure and ischemic stroke admission and mortality.