Short-Term Associations between Air Pollution Concentrations and Respiratory Health—Comparing Primary Health Care Visits, Hospital Admissions, and Emergency Department Visits in a Multi-Municipality Study

Tahir Taj, Ebba Malmqvist, Emilie Stroh, Daniel Oudin Åström, Kristina Jakobsson and Anna Oudin
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Tahir Taj: Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Lund University, SE-22100 Lund, Sweden
Ebba Malmqvist: Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Lund University, SE-22100 Lund, Sweden
Emilie Stroh: Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Lund University, SE-22100 Lund, Sweden
Daniel Oudin Åström: Center for Primary Health Care Research, Department of Clinical Science, Malmö, Lund University, SE-205 02 Malmö, Sweden
Kristina Jakobsson: Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Lund University, SE-22100 Lund, Sweden
Anna Oudin: Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Lund University, SE-22100 Lund, Sweden

IJERPH, 2017, vol. 14, issue 6, 1-13

Abstract: Acute effects of air pollution on respiratory health have traditionally been investigated with data on inpatient admissions, emergency room visits, and mortality. In this study, we aim to describe the total acute effects of air pollution on health care use for respiratory symptoms (ICD10-J00-J99). This will be done by investigating primary health care (PHC) visits, inpatient admissions, and emergency room visits together in five municipalities in southern Sweden, using a case-crossover design. Between 2005 and 2010, there were 81,019 visits to primary health care, 38,217 emergency room visits, and 25,271 inpatient admissions for respiratory symptoms in the study area. There was a 1.85% increase (95% CI: 0.52 to 3.20) in the number of primary health care visits associated with a 10 µg/m 3 increase in nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) levels in Malmö, but not in the other municipalities. Air pollution levels were generally not associated with emergency room visits or inpatient admissions, with one exception (in Helsingborg there was a 2.52% increase in emergency room visits for respiratory symptoms associated with a 10 µg/m 3 increase in PM 10 ). In conclusion, the results give weak support for short-term effects of air pollution on health care use associated with respiratory health symptoms in the study area.

Keywords: air pollution; primary health care; respiratory health; hospital admissions and ER visits; case crossover (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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