Differential time-lag effects of ambient PM2.5 and PM2.5-bound PAHs on asthma emergency department visits

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international 2020-12, Vol.27 (34), p.43117-43124
• Main Authors: Hsu, Shih-Chang, Chang, Jer-Hwa, Lee, Chon-Lin, Huang, Wen-Cheng, Hsu, Yuan-Pin, Liu, Chung-Te, Jean, Shio-Shin, Huang, Shau-Ku, Hsu, Chin-Wang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age groups; Air monitoring; Air pollution; Air quality; Aquatic Pollution; Asthma; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Emergency medical care; Emergency medical services; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental monitoring; Environmental science; Epidemiology; Gases; Health care facilities; Health risks; Outdoor air quality; Particulate matter; Pediatrics; Pollutants; Pollution monitoring; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; Regression analysis; Regression models; Research Article; Risk assessment; Scale models; Statistical analysis; Subgroups; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-020-10243-y

Epidemiological studies have suggested the effects of ambient fine particles (PM 2.5 ) on asthma, but the effects of specific components of PM 2.5 on asthma remain to be explored. Here, we studied the effect of PM 2.5 -bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) on asthma acute exacerbation. The data on daily counts of emergency room visits (ERVs) were obtained from Wan Fang Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan, from 2012 to 2015. The daily concentrations of PM 2.5 and pollutant gases were obtained from a local air quality monitoring station. The levels of PM 2.5 -bound PAH were estimated by an established grid-scale model. Relative risks for ERVs as the increase in the level of ambient pollutants were calculated by using a generalized additive model of Poisson regression. In the present study, we observed statistically significant positive associations between PM 2.5 and asthma ERVs for all age groups. PM 2.5 -bound PAH was also associated with asthma ERVs for all age groups. In the adult subgroup analysis, there was a significant association between PM 2.5 -bound PAH and asthma ERVs at lags 1 and 2 (RR 1.289, 95% CI 1.050–1.582 and RR 1.242, 95% CI 1.039–1.485). The impacts of air pollution on the risk of pediatric asthma ERV were found to be significant for PM 2.5 at lag day 0 (RR 1.310, 95% CI 1.069–1.606). Moreover, pediatric asthma ERVs were significantly associated with the levels of PM 2.5 -bound PAH at lag 1 and 2 days (RR 1.576, 95% CI 1.371–1.810 and RR 1.426, 95% CI 1.265–1.607). The study provides evidence that PM 2.5 -bound PAHs were associated with an increased risk of asthma attacks. Our data further suggested that traffic exhaust is a primary source of PM 2.5 -bound PAHs.