Lagged influence of fine particulate matter and geographic disparities on clinic visits for children’s asthma in Taiwan
Journal
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Journal Volume
15
Journal Issue
4
Date Issued
2018
Author(s)
Abstract
Recent studies have revealed the influence of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) on increased medication use, hospital admission, and emergency room visits for asthma attack in children, but the lagged influence of PM2.5 on children’s asthma and geographic disparities of children’s asthma have rarely been discussed simultaneously. This study investigated the documented diagnosis of children’s asthma in clinic visits for children aged less than 15 years old that were associated with PM2.5 in two counties located in west-central Taiwan during 2005-2010. The result shows that PM2.5 had a significant lagged effect on children’s asthma for up to 6 days. A significantly higher relative risk for children’s asthma was more likely to happen at 2-day lag compared to the present day when PM2.5 increased from 36.17 ?g/m3 to 81.26 ?g/m3. Considering all lagged effects, the highest relative risk for children’s asthma was 1.08 (95% CI = 1.05, 1.11) as PM2.5 increased as high as 64.66 ?g/m3. In addition, geographic disparities of children’s asthma were significant, and 47.83% of areas were identified to have children vulnerable to asthma. To sum up, our findings can serve as a valuable reference for the implementation of an early warning to governmental agencies about a susceptible population of children. ? 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Subjects
Children’s asthma clinic visits; Nonlinear lagged effects; PM2.5; Spatial variation
SDGs
Other Subjects
carbon dioxide; nitric oxide; nitrogen dioxide; ozone; sulfur dioxide; asthma; early warning system; health risk; hospital sector; particulate matter; spatial variation; young population; adolescent; air pollution; Article; asthma; childhood disease; controlled study; disease exacerbation; emergency ward; environmental factor; fine particulate matter; geographic distribution; hospital admission; human; humidity; meteorological phenomena; particulate matter; physical activity; respiratory tract disease; risk factor; seasonal variation; Taiwan; air pollutant; analysis; asthma; child; demography; female; hospital emergency service; hospitalization; male; outpatient department; particulate matter; preschool child; risk; spatial analysis; statistics and numerical data; time factor; Taiwan; Adolescent; Air Pollutants; Ambulatory Care Facilities; Asthma; Child; Child, Preschool; Emergency Service, Hospital; Female; Hospitalization; Humans; Male; Particulate Matter; Residence Characteristics; Risk; Spatial Analysis; Taiwan; Time Factors
Type
journal article