Temperature, nitrogen dioxide, circulating respiratory viruses and acute upper respiratory infections among children in Taipei, Taiwan: A population-based study
Journal
Environmental Research
Journal Volume
120
Pages
109-118
Date Issued
2013
Author(s)
Abstract
Objective: This study investigated whether outpatient visits of acute upper respiratory infections for children aged less than 15 years are associated with temperature, air pollutants and circulating respiratory viruses in Taipei, Taiwan, from 2003 to 2007. Methods: Outpatient records for acute upper respiratory infections (ICD9 CM codes: 460, 462, 463,464, 465.9 and 487) in a randomly selected sample (n=39,766 children in 2005) was used to estimate the cumulative relative risks (RR) associated with average temperature lasting for 8 days (lag 0-7 days), air pollutants (NO2, O3 and PM2.5) lasting for 6 days (lag 0-5 days), and virus-specific positive isolation rate lasting for 11 days (lag 0-10 days) using distributed lag non-linear models after controlling for relative humidity, wind speed, day of week, holiday effects and long-term trend. Results: Average temperature of 33°C was associated with the lowest risk for outpatient visits of acute upper respiratory infections. Relative to 33°C, cumulative 8-day RR was highest at 15°C of ambient average temperature [RR=1.94; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.78, 2.11]. With the first quartile as reference, cumulative 6-day RRs were 1.25 (95% CI: 1.21, 1.29) for NO2, 1.04 (95% CI: 1.01, 1.06) for O3, and 1.00 (95% CI: 0.98, 1.03) for PM2.5 at the 95th percentile. Per-standard deviation (SD) increase of virus-specific isolation rate for influenza type A (SD=13.2%), type B (SD=8.76%), and adenoviruses (SD=5.25%) revealed statistical significance for overall 11-day RRs of 1.02 (95% CI: 1.01, 1.03), 1.05 (95% CI: 1.03, 1.06) and 1.04 (95% CI: 1.03, 1.05), respectively. Conclusions: Current study suggested a positive association between outpatient visits for acute upper respiratory infections and ambient environment factors, including average temperature, air pollutants, and circulating respiratory viruses. ? 2012 Elsevier Inc.
Subjects
Air pollution; Children; Respiratory viruses; Temperature; Upper respiratory infection
SDGs
Other Subjects
nitrogen dioxide; atmospheric pollution; child health; environmental factor; health impact; health survey; hospital sector; influenza; nitrogen dioxide; relative humidity; respiratory disease; temperature effect; trend analysis; virus; wind velocity; Adenovirus; adolescent; air pollutant; ambient air; article; child; controlled study; environmental temperature; human; humidity; ICD-9; influenza A; influenza B; Influenza virus A; Influenza virus B; major clinical study; medical record; outpatient department; particulate matter; patient selection; population based case control study; priority journal; respiratory virus; risk factor; seasonal variation; Taiwan; trend study; viral upper respiratory tract infection; virus isolation; wind; Air Pollution; Child; Humans; Nitrogen Dioxide; Respiratory Tract Infections; Risk Factors; Taiwan; Temperature; Virus Diseases; Viruses; Taipei; Taiwan
Type
journal article