Association between ambient air pollution and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: are there potentially susceptible groups?

• Published in: Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology Vol. 30; no. 4; pp. 641 - 649
• Main Authors: Cheng, Fu-Jen, Wu, Kuan-Han, Hung, Shih-Chiang, Lee, Kuo-Hsin, Lee, Chia-Wei, Liu, Kun-Ying, Hsu, Ping-Chi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Nature Publishing Group 01.07.2020
• Subjects: Adult; Age; Air Pollutants - analysis; Air pollution; Air Pollution - analysis; Air Pollution - statistics & numerical data; Cardiac arrest; Cardiopulmonary resuscitation; Cardiovascular diseases; Cold season; Coronary artery disease; CPR; Diabetes mellitus; Diabetics; Emergency medical services; Environmental Exposure - statistics & numerical data; Female; Heart diseases; Humans; Incidence; Male; Middle Aged; Nitrogen dioxide; Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest - epidemiology; Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest - etiology; Particulate emissions; Particulate matter; Particulate Matter - analysis; Patients; Pollutants; Pollution effects; Risk factors; Seasons; Subgroups; China; Taiwan; Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest; Air pollution; Emergency department; Preexisting morbidity; Particulate matter
• ISSN: 1559-0631; 1559-064X
• DOI: 10.1038/s41370-019-0140-7

This study aimed to examine the association between air pollution and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), and the effects of underlying diseases. Between January 2015 and December 2016, data on particulate matter (PM) and other air pollutants in Kaohsiung City were collected, and an emergency medical service database was used for information on patients who experienced OHCA. Overall, 3566 patients were analyzed and subgroup analyses by sex, age, and preexisting morbidities were performed. Interquartile increments in PM , PM , and O levels on lag 1 and NO level on lag 3 were associated with increments of 10.8%, 11.3%, 6.2%, and 1.7% in OHCA incidence, respectively. Subgroup analyses showed that patients with diabetes (1.363; interaction p = 0.009), heart disease (1.612; interaction p = 0.001), and advanced age (≥70 years, 1.297; interaction p = 0.003) were more susceptible to NO on lag 3. Moreover, patients were more susceptible to O during the cold season (1.194; interaction p = 0.001). We found that PM , PM , NO , and O may play an important role in OHCA events, and the effects vary by underlying condition, age and season.