The impact of communicating information about air pollution events on public health
The impact of communicating information about air pollution events on public health
Short-term exposure to air pollution has been associated with exacerbation of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This study investigated the relationship between emergency hospital admissions for asthma, COPD and episodes of poor air quality in an English city (Southampton) from 2008–2013. The city's council provides a forecasting service for poor air quality to individuals with respiratory disease to reduce preventable admissions to hospital and this has been evaluated. Trends in nitrogen dioxide, ozone and particulate matter concentrations were related to hospital admissions data using regression analysis. The impacts of air quality on emergency admissions were quantified using the relative risks associated with each pollutant. Seasonal and weekly trends were apparent for both air pollution and hospital admissions, although there was a weak relationship between the two. The air quality forecasting service proved ineffective at reducing hospital admissions. Improvements to the health forecasting service are necessary to protect the health of susceptible individuals, as there is likely to be an increasing need for such services in the future.
air pollution, pollution events, respiratory health, asthma, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, particulates, forecasting, coastal city
478-491
McLaren, J.
ee774c67-70b5-46a8-8f82-6b2ff003d584
Williams, I.D.
c9d674ac-ee69-4937-ab43-17e716266e22
15 December 2015
McLaren, J.
ee774c67-70b5-46a8-8f82-6b2ff003d584
Williams, I.D.
c9d674ac-ee69-4937-ab43-17e716266e22
Abstract
Short-term exposure to air pollution has been associated with exacerbation of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This study investigated the relationship between emergency hospital admissions for asthma, COPD and episodes of poor air quality in an English city (Southampton) from 2008–2013. The city's council provides a forecasting service for poor air quality to individuals with respiratory disease to reduce preventable admissions to hospital and this has been evaluated. Trends in nitrogen dioxide, ozone and particulate matter concentrations were related to hospital admissions data using regression analysis. The impacts of air quality on emergency admissions were quantified using the relative risks associated with each pollutant. Seasonal and weekly trends were apparent for both air pollution and hospital admissions, although there was a weak relationship between the two. The air quality forecasting service proved ineffective at reducing hospital admissions. Improvements to the health forecasting service are necessary to protect the health of susceptible individuals, as there is likely to be an increasing need for such services in the future.
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Accepted/In Press date: 30 July 2015
e-pub ahead of print date: 27 August 2015
Published date: 15 December 2015
Keywords:
air pollution, pollution events, respiratory health, asthma, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, particulates, forecasting, coastal city
Organisations:
Centre for Environmental Science
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 381026
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/381026
ISSN: 0048-9697
PURE UUID: 0fd11cee-a4c3-4e79-ac74-e067405ae7bb
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Date deposited: 24 Sep 2015 08:44
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:22
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Author:
J. McLaren
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