4.7 Article

Association between air pollution and emergency room visits for eye diseases and effect modification by temperature in Beijing, China

Journal

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
Volume 29, Issue 15, Pages 22613-22622

Publisher

SPRINGER HEIDELBERG
DOI: 10.1007/s11356-021-17304-w

Keywords

Air pollution; Particulate matter; Temperature; Emergency room visits; Eye diseases; Conjunctivitis

Funding

  1. National Natural Science Foundation of China [22076006, 82073506]
  2. Ministry of Ecology and Environment: the research of national-level ecological and environmental planning [14430019]

Ask authors/readers for more resources

This study found that short-term exposure to PM2.5, PM10, CO, and NO2 was associated with increased emergency room visits for total eye diseases and conjunctivitis. The study also observed stronger effects in different temperature groups, highlighting the importance of controlling air pollutants on days with varying temperatures.
The growing burden of eye disease worldwide has aroused increasing concern upon its environmental etiology. This study aims to evaluate the associations of air pollutants with emergency room visits for eye diseases and the effect modification by temperature. Based on 24,389 cases from a general hospital during 2014-2019 in Beijing, China, this study used generalized additive models to examine the associations of air pollutants and emergency room visits for total eye diseases (ICD10: H00-H59) and conjunctivitis (ICD10: H10). Short-term exposures to PM2.5, PM10, CO, and NO2 were associated with increased visits for total eye diseases and conjunctivitis, and stronger effect estimates were observed in high (>75th) temperature group for PM2.5, PM10, CO, and NO2 and low (<75th) temperature group for CO and NO2. For instance, a 10 mu g/m(3) increase in PM2.5 at lag0-1 were associated with a 0.73% (95% CI: 0.23%, 1.24%) increase in total eye disease visits and a 1.34% (95% CI: 0.55%, 2.13%) increase in conjunctivitis visits, respectively. Meanwhile, a 10 mu g/m(3) increase in PM2.5 was associated with a 1.57% (95% CI: 0.49%, 2.64%) change in high temperature group and a 0.48% (95% CI: -0.24%, 1.19%) change in medium temperature group (P for interaction = 0.04) in total eye disease visits. Our study emphasizes the importance of controlling the potential hazards of air pollutants on eyes, especially on days with relatively higher or colder temperature.

Authors

I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.

Reviews

Primary Rating

4.7
Not enough ratings

Secondary Ratings

Novelty
-
Significance
-
Scientific rigor
-
Rate this paper

Recommended

No Data Available
No Data Available