Asian dust storms result in a higher risk of the silicosis hospital admissions

Purpose Previous studies found that silicosis was majorly associated with occupation-related risks. However, little evidence was available to clarify the relation between Asian dust storm (ADS) and silicosis hospital admissions. This present paper aims to investigate the association between ADS events and hospital admissions for silicosis. Methods We applied a Poisson time-series regression on the 2000-2012 National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan, linking air quality data and ambient temperature data to estimate the impact of ADS on silicosis hospital admissions in the age-specific groups. Results A total of 2154 hospital admissions were recorded for silicosis in Taiwan, for a daily average number of 0.45. The number rises from 0.43 on a day without ADS to 0.70 on the outbreak day and continues increasing to 0.83 one day after outbreak. Among patients under 45, the effect of ADS appears on the event day as well as several post-event days (lag2-6) at the significant level of p < 0.1. There is also a significant lag effect on post-event day 2 (p < 0.05) for those aged above 74. Conclusion Asian dust storms do result in a rise of silicosis hospital admissions, particularly for those above 74, those under 45, and for females.

Automated summary

This study investigated the association between Asian dust storms and hospital admissions for silicosis in Taiwan. The results showed that there was a rise in silicosis hospital admissions during and after Asian dust storm events, particularly for individuals above 74, those under 45, and females.