Short-Term Effects of Air Pollution on Respiratory and Circulatory Morbidity in Colombia 2011⁻2014: A Multi-City, Time-Series Analysis

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health Vol. 15; no. 8; p. 1610
• Main Authors: Rodríguez-Villamizar, Laura Andrea, Rojas-Roa, Néstor Yezid, Blanco-Becerra, Luis Camilo, Herrera-Galindo, Víctor Mauricio, Fernández-Niño, Julián Alfredo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 30.07.2018; MDPI
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Air monitoring; Air Pollutants - adverse effects; Air Pollutants - analysis; Air pollution; Air Pollution - adverse effects; Air Pollution - analysis; Air quality; Air quality assessments; Carbon Monoxide - adverse effects; Carbon Monoxide - analysis; Cardiovascular Diseases - epidemiology; Child; Child, Preschool; Cities - epidemiology; Colombia - epidemiology; Ecological monitoring; Emergencies; Emergency medical services; Emergency Service, Hospital - statistics & numerical data; Environmental monitoring; Epidemiology; Female; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Male; Middle Aged; Morbidity; Mortality; Nitrogen dioxide; Nitrogen Dioxide - adverse effects; Nitrogen Dioxide - analysis; Outdoor air quality; Ozone - adverse effects; Ozone - analysis; Particulate matter; Particulate Matter - adverse effects; Particulate Matter - analysis; Pollutants; Pollution; Pollution effects; Pollution monitoring; Regression analysis; Respiratory diseases; Respiratory Tract Diseases - epidemiology; Statistical analysis; Sulfur dioxide; Sulfur Dioxide - adverse effects; Sulfur Dioxide - analysis; Systematic review; Time series; Weather; Young Adult; Colombia; Cities; Latin America; adverse effects; Colombia; epidemiology; air pollution; morbidity
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph15081610

Few studies have been conducted on the effect of air pollution on morbidity in Latin America. This study analyzed the effects of air pollution on respiratory and circulatory morbidity in four major cities in Colombia. An ecological time-series analysis was conducted with pollution data from air quality monitoring networks and information on emergency department visits between 2011 and 2014. Daily 24-h averages were calculated for NO₂, PM , PM , and SO₂ as well as 8-h averages for CO and O₃. Separate time-series were constructed by disease group and pollutant. Conditional negative binomial regression models were used with average population effects. Effects were calculated for the same day and were adjusted for weather conditions, age groups, and their interactions. The results showed that effects of some of the pollutants differed among the cities. For NO₂, PM , and PM , the multi-city models showed greater and statistically significant percentage increases in emergency department visits for respiratory diseases, particularly for the 5 to 9-year-old age group. These same pollutants also significantly affected the rate of emergency department visits for circulatory diseases, especially for the group of persons over 60 years of age.