Lagged Association of Ambient Outdoor Air Pollutants with Asthma-Related Emergency Department Visits within the Pittsburgh Region

Brandy M. Byrwa-Hill, Arvind Venkat, Albert A. Presto, Judith R. Rager, Deborah Gentile and Evelyn Talbott
Additional contact information
Brandy M. Byrwa-Hill: Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
Arvind Venkat: Department of Emergency Medicine, Allegheny Health Network, Pittsburgh, PA 15212, USA
Albert A. Presto: Center for Atmospheric Particle Studies and Department of Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
Judith R. Rager: Department of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
Deborah Gentile: Allergy and Asthma Wellness Centers, Butler, PA 16066, USA
Evelyn Talbott: Department of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 22, 1-10

Abstract: Asthma affects millions of people globally and is especially concerning in populations living with poor air quality. This study examines the association of ambient outdoor air pollutants on asthma-related emergency department (ED) visits in children and adults throughout the Pittsburgh region. A time-stratified case-crossover design is used to analyze the lagged effects of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) and gaseous pollutants, e.g., ozone (O 3 ), sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), and carbon monoxide (CO) on asthma-related ED visits ( n = 6682). Single-, double-, and multi-pollutant models are adjusted for temperature and analyzed using conditional logistic regression. In children, all models show an association between O 3 and increased ED visits at lag day 1 (OR: 1.12, 95% CI, 1.03–1.22, p < 0.05) for the double-pollutant model (OR: 1.10, 95% CI: 1.01-1.20, p < 0.01). In adults, the single-pollutant model shows associations between CO and increased ED visits at lag day 5 (OR: 1.13, 95% CI, 1.00–1.28, p < 0.05) and average lag days 0–5 (OR: 1.22, 95% CI: 1.00–1.49, p < 0.05), and for NO 2 at lag day 5 (OR: 1.04, 95% CI: 1.00–1.07, p < 0.05). These results show an association between air pollution and asthma morbidity in the Pittsburgh region and underscore the need for mitigation efforts to improve public health outcomes.

Keywords: asthma; pollution; emergency department visits; pediatrics; adults; ozone (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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