Air Pollution and Respiratory Hospital Admissions in Kuwait: The Epidemiological Applicability of Predicted PM 2.5 in Arid Regions

Soad Albahar, Jing Li, Mustafa Al-Zoughool, Ali Al-Hemoud, Janvier Gasana, Hassan Aldashti and Barrak Alahmad
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Soad Albahar: Environmental and Occupational Health Department, College of Public Health, Kuwait University, Shadadiya 13110, Kuwait
Jing Li: Institute of Child and Adolescent Health, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Mustafa Al-Zoughool: Environmental and Occupational Health Department, College of Public Health, Kuwait University, Shadadiya 13110, Kuwait
Ali Al-Hemoud: Environment and Life Sciences Research Center, Kuwait Institute of Scientific Research, Kuwait City 13109, Kuwait
Janvier Gasana: Environmental and Occupational Health Department, College of Public Health, Kuwait University, Shadadiya 13110, Kuwait
Hassan Aldashti: Meteorological Department, Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Kuwait City 13001, Kuwait
Barrak Alahmad: Environmental and Occupational Health Department, College of Public Health, Kuwait University, Shadadiya 13110, Kuwait

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 10, 1-10

Abstract: Dust is a major component of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) in arid regions; therefore, concentrations of this pollutant in countries such as Kuwait exceed air quality standards. There is limited understanding on the impact and burden of high PM 2.5 concentrations on morbidity in these countries. In this study, we explore the association of PM 2.5 and the risk of respiratory hospital admissions in Kuwait. A time-series regression model was used to investigate daily variations in respiratory admissions and PM 2.5 concentrations from 2010 to 2018. Due to the lack of historical air quality sampling in Kuwait, we used estimated daily PM 2.5 levels from a hybrid PM 2.5 prediction model. Individual and cumulative lag effects of PM 2.5 over a 5-day period were estimated using distributed lag linear models. Associations were stratified by sex, age, and nationality. There were 218,749 total respiratory admissions in Kuwait during the study period. Results indicate that for every 10 μg/m 3 increase in PM 2.5 , a 1.61% (95% CI = 0.87, 2.35%) increase in respiratory admissions followed over a 5-day cumulative lag. Our estimates show that a 10 μg/m 3 reduction in average exposure will potentially avert 391 yearly respiratory admissions (95% CI = 211,571), with 265 fewer admissions among Kuwaitis (95% CI = 139,393) and 262 fewer admissions among children under 15 years of age (95% CI = 125,351). Different strata of the Kuwaiti population are vulnerable to respiratory hospitalization with short-term exposure to PM 2.5 , especially those under 15 years of age. The findings are informative for public health authorities in Kuwait and other dust-prone countries.

Keywords: desert dust; time series; respiratory admission; Kuwait (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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