The impact of desert dust exposures on hospitalizations due to exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Desertification and climate warming trends pose a global ecological and environmental problem. The city of Be'er Sheva (Southern Israel) is located at the margins of the Sahara-Arabian dust belt and is frequently subjected to dust storm (DS) with high levels of particular matter (PM), making it...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Air quality, atmosphere and health atmosphere and health, 2014-12, Vol.7 (4), p.433-439
Main Authors: Vodonos, Alina, Friger, Michael, Katra, Itzhak, Avnon, Lone, Krasnov, Helena, Koutrakis, Petros, Schwartz, Joel, Lior, Orly, Novack, Victor
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Air pollution
Airborne particulates
Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Climate change
Desertification
Dust
Dust storms
Earth and Environmental Science
Environment
Environmental Health
Global warming
Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
Mortality
Outdoor air quality
Particulate matter
Public health
Storms
Studies
Urban environments
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Summary:Desertification and climate warming trends pose a global ecological and environmental problem. The city of Be'er Sheva (Southern Israel) is located at the margins of the Sahara-Arabian dust belt and is frequently subjected to dust storm (DS) with high levels of particular matter (PM), making it an ideal location for investigating the health effects. The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of DS on patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in an arid urban environment. We obtained health data of patients 18 years or older discharged from Soroka University Medical Center (SUMC) with a primary diagnosis consistent with COPD exacerbation. Data on meteorological parameters and air pollutants were obtained from two monitoring stations in the city of Be'er Sheva. Time series analysis was performed to assess the COPD exacerbation incidence rate ratio (IRR) resulting from dust storm exposures. We found that daily PM 10 concentrations were extremely high during dust storm days, and there is a positive association between dust storms and rate of hospitalization for COPD exacerbation: (IRR = 1.16; 95 %CI, 1.08–1.24; p  
ISSN:1873-9318
1873-9326
DOI:10.1007/s11869-014-0253-z