Acute Effects of Ambient Air Pollution on Asthma Emergency Department Visits in Ten US States

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Jianzhao Bi, University of Washington; Rohan R D'Souza, Emory University; Shannon Moss, Emory University; Niru Senthilkumar, Georgia Institute of Technology; Armistead G Russell, Georgia Institute of Technology; Noah Scovronick, Emory University; Howard Chang, Emory University; Stefanie Ebelt, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2023-04-01
• Publisher: US DEPT HEALTH HUMAN SCIENCES PUBLIC HEALTH SCIENCE
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: EHP is an open-access journal published with support from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health. All content is public domain unless otherwise noted.
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/EHP11661
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PERSPECTIVES
• Volume: 131
• Issue: 4
• Start Page: 47003
• End Page: 47003
• Keywords: MORBIDITY; Environmental Sciences; UNITED-STATES; EXPOSURE MEASUREMENT ERROR; Public, Environmental & Occupational Health; STRATIFIED CASE-CROSSOVER; Science & Technology; HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS; TERM OZONE EXPOSURE; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; TIME-SERIES; POLLUTANTS; DISTRIBUTED LAG; Toxicology; Environmental Sciences & Ecology; ASSOCIATIONS

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Previous studies of short-term ambient air pollution exposure and asthma morbidity in the United States have been limited to a small number of cities and/or pollutants and with limited consideration of effects across ages. OBJECTIVES: To estimate acute age group-specific effects of fine and coarse particulate matter (PM), major PM components, and gaseous pollutants on emergency department (ED) visits for asthma during 2005-2014 across the United States. METHODS: We acquired ED visit and air quality data in regions surrounding 53 speciation sites in 10 states. We used quasi-Poisson log-linear time-series models with unconstrained distributed exposure lags to estimate site-specific acute effects of air pollution on asthma ED visits overall and by age group (1-4, 5-17, 18-49, 50-64, and formula presented y), controlling for meteorology, time trends, and influenza activity. We then used a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate pooled associations from site-specific associations. RESULTS: Our analysis included formula presented asthma ED visits. We observed positive associations for multiday cumulative exposure to all air pollutants examined [e.g., 8-d exposure to formula presented : rate ratio of 1.016 with 95% credible interval (CI) of (1.008, 1.025) per formula presented increase, formula presented : 1.014 (95% CI: 1.007, 1.020) per formula presented increase, organic carbon: 1.016 (95% CI: 1.009, 1.024) per formula presented increase, and ozone: 1.008 (95% CI: 0.995, 1.022) per formula presented increase]. formula presented and ozone showed stronger effects at shorter lags, whereas associations of traffic-related pollutants (e.g., elemental carbon and oxides of nitrogen) were generally stronger at longer lags. Most pollutants had more pronounced effects on children (formula presented y old) than adults; formula presented had strong effects on both children and the elderly (formula presented y old); and ozone had stronger effects on adults than children. CONCLUSIONS: We reported positive associations between short-term air pollution exposure and increased rates of asthma ED visits. We found that air pollution exposure posed a higher risk for children and older populations. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP11661.